IS Boris Johnson quite shameless? According to reports in the Daily Mail and the Metro, he is proposing setting up a donor-funded ‘charity’ to pay for his future lifestyle with Carrie Symonds.
The revelation comes hard on the heels of demands that the influence of the Premier’s fiancée at 10 Downing Street warrants investigation. The growing power of Ms Symonds is underlined by the Princess Diana-style coverage of her in the latest issue of Tatler – with a front cover and an associated feature brazenly entitled Carrie’s Coup.
There can be no doubt that this was the result of careful PR planning and expensive production, requiring her full co-operation with the society magazine.
But it’s not just his fiancée’s costly fashion makeover that Mr Johnson has to worry about. It’s also how to pay for an expensive refurbishment of their flat at 11 Downing Street – Theresa May’s John Lewis furniture apparently not deemed good enough for the couple. Restyled décor for the property is said to be inspired by designer Lulu Lytle, whose fabrics start at a whopping £100 a metre.
Wealthy Tory benefactors will apparently be asked to bankroll the luxurious scheme by making donations to a new charity nominally set up to preserve 10 and 11 Downing Street for the nation on heritage grounds.
There’s not much sympathy for Mr Johnson, according to my Twitter poll yesterday.
But that’s hardly surprising – isn’t funding a personal lifestyle a travesty of the purpose of a charitable foundation?
Feel free to discuss this or anything else on your mind.
