Boris Johnson’s controversial refurbishment of his official Downing Street flat cost £112k, according to a document leaked by the Cabinet Office. As obtained by The Independent, the document shows Items ordered by Boris and Carrie Johnson for their No 11 apartment from interior designer Lulu Lytle’s upmarket Soane Britain firm led to a total cost of £112,000. Johnson initially tried to have the refurb funded by a donor, before eventually paying for it himself.
Items included a £7,000 rug and 10 rolls of wallpaper costing £225 each. The bill also lists a £3,675 drinks trolley, two sofas worth more than £15,000, and dining chairs costing £11,200, with the cheapest item – a kitchen tablecloth – priced at £500. Some £11,000 was billed for dining chairs, and £3,000 for a “paint effect” in the dining room of the flat. In total, the estimate from Soane Britain, came to more than £200,000.
The reports will likely restimulate the controversy surrounding Johnson’s lavish flat overhaul and questions of its funding. The flat revamp was one in a series of scandals surrounding Johnson’s leadership which ultimately led to his party turning against him and forcing his dramatic resignation on July 7. Below is a list of included costs:
Entrance hall:
- Antiqued, beveled mirror all over the wall – £3,000
- Console table, fixed to the mirror – £3,000
- 10 rolls of Espalier Square wallpaper, £225 per roll – £2,250
- Centre table – £3,000
- Hanging light – £4,465
Drawing Room
- Rug – £7,000
- Wallpaper – £1,500
- Sofas, £7,560 each – £15,120
- 36m of Fabric for sofa, £80 per m – £2,880
- Antique double wingback chair – £4,200
- Antique low ottoman – £1,000
- Nureyev Trolley – £3,675
- Long book table/low bookcase – £3,800
- Leighton – £3,675
- 2 Little side tables, £1,500 each – £3,000
- Card table – £2,000
- 2 Chairs, £1,000 each – £2,000
- Large mirror – £3,000
- Lamps – £6,000
- Shades – £2,500
- 4 curtains, £900 each – £3,600
- 64m window fabric, £100 per m – £6,400
- Fire – £2,000
- Fabrics and upholstery – £5,000
Kitchen
- Dining table – £1,500
- 15 rolls wallpaper, £55 per roll – £825
- Chair – £1,500
- Rug – £2,000
- Loose cover – £2,000
- TV Table – £1,000
- 2 Curtains, £900 each – £1,800
- 32m Fabric, £81,25 per m – £2,600
- Lamp – £2,500
- Gas fire – £2,000
Dining Room
- Rug – £3,000
- Paint effect – £3,100
- 8 upholstered dining chairs, £1,410 each – £11,280
- 20m fabric for dining chairs, £80 per m – £1,200
- Serving table – £2,000
- Tablecloth – £500
- 2 pairs of curtains, £900 each – £1,800
- 32m Soralia Red Fern Fabric for curtains, £100 per m – £3,200
- Gas fire – £2,000
- 2 Hurricane Wall lights with candle, £1,775 each – £3,550
Where Guardian from Wertheim Global Comes into Play
One in a slew of leaked documents from Downing Street involving the former Prime Minister and his many, many controversies, we are made aware that in this particular instance, the smoke came from directly inside the (burning) house. An insider leak is a preventable tragedy, but only with the correct security system, one created specifically to deal with this type of abuse. Guardian uses predictive analytics with the specific purpose of identifying insiders who intend to misuse their access to your documents, and had Mr. Johnson thought far enough ahead to secure his government content servers from his political enemies, well… We’re not saying we support him. We’re just saying, we might have been able to preserve his dignity for a little while longer…