Boris Johnson is now facing more sleaze fury after refusing to disclose the value of a family vacation he received at the Spanish estate of one his richest ministers.
Downing Street confirmed today that the Johnsons October stay at Lord Goldsmith’s Marbella house in Marbella would not be included on the Register of MPs Financial Interests.
They claim that it is not within the purview of the House of Commons financial probity watchdog because it was provided to it by a minister.
Yesterday’s ministerial register of interest revealed that the holiday was free of charge provided by Goldsmith. Goldsmith was a former MP and friend to Carrie Johnson, who was awarded a peerage by Mr Johnson in 2019 after he lost his Commons seat.
An entry on the separate MPs registry would need to reveal how much the benefit in type was worth. The Torre Tramores estate, where Mr Johnson, Carrie and their son Wilfred stayed, is available for private rent at a cost of £25,000 per night for a secluded retreat with its own private helipad.
A spokesperson for No. 10 today stated that the holiday taken by ‘a friend of long standing’ was correctly registered.
He stated that the Prime Minister had met transparency requirements and declared the arrangement in his ministerial capacity. This was because it was hospitality provided by another minister.
The Prime Minister quietly revealed in the latest list of ministerial interests that Lord Goldsmith allowed him, Carrie and Wilfred to stay at his £25,000-per-night estate near Marbella without payment.
Today, a No 10 spokesperson stated that the holiday given by ‘a longstanding friend of the PM’ had been correctly registered.
Goldsmith was the former MP from Richmond Park, a close friend and confidant of the PM’s spouse. He was promoted to the peerage by Johnson after he lost the seat in the 2019 election.
The move allowed the 46-year-old (pictured at Cop26 this week with the Prince of Wales) to remain in Government as an environment minister. He is currently Minister of the Pacific and the Environment.
He said that the PM had written to the House of Commons registry to ‘declare’ the arrangement. He did not clarify when asked whether the registrar had replied to Mr Johnson’s letter, but added: ‘As I say, ministerial code declarations fall outside the remit of the House of Commons registrar and Parliamentary Standards Commissioner.’
Downing Street has justified its decision by pointing to a section in the Code of Conduct for MPs regarding trips abroad which says that among those that do not need to be declared are ‘visits wholly unconnected with membership of the House or with the Member’s parliamentary or political activities (e.g. Family holidays)
A spokesperson for the PM stated that Lord Geidt, the ministerial standards advisor to the PM, had reviewed the declaration as part the process.
When asked why the PM’s Marbella holiday didn’t need to be declared on register of members’ interest, the spokesperson replied that the ministerial code declarations are not within the remit of House of Commons register.
Goldsmith was the former Richmond Park MP who was promoted to the peerage by Johnson after he lost his seat in the Liberal Democrats.
The move allowed the 46 year-old to continue in Government as an environment minister. He is currently Minister for the Pacific and the Environment having been given an additional role in a 2020 reshuffle.
The stay at the Torre Tramores in early October sparked fury as Mr Johnson left the UK amid a gas price crisis that struck businesses.
The latest register was released yesterday. A simple paragraph states that the Prime Minister has a longstanding friendship with the Goldsmiths family and in that capacity, in Oct 2021, he stayed at a holiday home in southern Spain, which was provided by the Goldsmiths for no cost.
“Given that Lord Goldsmith is Minister of the Crown,” the arrangement has been declared.
The latest register was released today. A simple paragraph states that the Prime Minister has a longstanding friendship with the Goldsmith family. In October 2021, the Goldsmiths provided a free holiday home in southern Spain for him. The arrangement has been declared because Lord Goldsmith is Minister of the Crown.
Johnson took the position he did after registering his controversial holiday with Commons authorities.
Kathryn Stone, the independent Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, castigated the Prime Minister in the summer over a lavish £15,000 Caribbean holiday in 2019 funded by Tory donors.
He was spared from any punishment, which could have meant that he had been the first sitting premier to be removed from the Commons by MPs who overturned the ruling.
The cross-party Standards Committee found that the PM had made an “accurate” and complete declaration about the holiday in Dec 2019, stating that it was a donation from Carphone Warehouse founder David Ross, even though the couple didn’t stay at his villa.
The committee, chaired by Chris Bryant, Labour MP for Labour, overruled Ms Stone. She concluded that Mr Johnson had violated the Code of Conduct of MPs during a 15 month wrangle. Johnson initially failed to give a full explanation and was later criticized for not showing the accountability required of public officials.
The report also revealed that the premier didn’t know how the jaunt was paid until he arrived in Mustique. After that, he realized he wasn’t staying on Mr Ross’s property.