PM s standards adviser to publish Downing Street refurb probe this month
Lord Geidt says he is confident his role will be robust despite being unable to trigger investigations himself
Lord Geidt gave evidence to PACAC today. Screengrab: Parliament TV
The prime minister’s new ethics adviser will reveal whether Boris Johnson received any donations that were used to refurbish his Downing Street flat by the end of the month, he has said.
Lord Christopher Geidt, who was named as the PM’s independent adviser on ministerial standards earlier this month, told a committee of MPs today he is “absolutely determined” to publish the delayed list of ministers’ interests – which should reveal whether any donor money contributed to the refurbishment – within weeks.
“I would plan to publish that advice alongside the declaration of interests,” Lord Geidt added. He was appointed to the role last month as the Electoral Commission launched a formal investigation into the renovations, saying there are “reasonable grounds” to suspect an offence. The delay in publishing the list of interests was blamed on the post being empty, but Lord Geidt told MPs it was “unfortunate” that there was no publication in the interim. “I do think that it was unfortunate that the list that we imagine should’ve been published in December 2020 wasn’t, and that is why I’m driven to act with as much urgency as I can to get this next list published at the end of the month,” he said.
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To lose one ethics adviser is misfortune, to lose both looks like carelessness (Getty)
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ow much trouble will Lord Christopher Geidt make for the prime minister? Of course, the fairer way to put the question is to ask how much trouble the prime minister is prepared to make for himself. The evidence on that, looking at the record thus far, is abundant. A watchdog on standards, the role Lord Geidt is now taking on, can only do so much to restrain a wayward premier. Boris Johnson can only really be sacked by his party (or the electorate), and not by any appointed official. However, a compliant sort of establishment old buffer as adviser on ministerial standards, an obedient poodle, is obviously better than some sort of snarling rottweiler. In his evidence to the Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, Lord Geidt sought to assure him that, smooth and discreet as he may be, he is not afraid to sink his teeth into the pri
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