Boris Johnson ‘accuses new phone number’ of failing to reveal WhatsApp messages on luxury apartment redevelopment

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Boris Johnson is expected to blame a new mobile number for its failure to reveal crucial WhatsApp messages to the investigation into his lavish renovation of the Downing Street apartment.

The PM is also expected to apologize to Christopher Geidt – his adviser who was ‘misled’ when he cleared Mr Johnson of wrongdoing – in letters to be released later today.

Lord Geidt is set to issue a scathing rebuke and demand an overhaul of Operation 10, to avoid a repeat of the episode, after reopening his investigation last month.

However, he should not conclude that the ministerial code has been broken – although Mr Johnson is still threatened with a new investigation by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards.

The controversy over the £ 112,000 redevelopment was reignited when an Election Commission report revealed Mr Johnson had personally requested more funds for the redecorations, in 2020.

Yet – three months later – he told Lord Geidt he had nothing about how the work was funded, which led to the adviser’s investigation who cleared him.

A government insider told the Financial Times: “The Prime Minister told Geidt that he had not seen the WhatsApp messages because he had changed his phone number.

Mr Johnson was forced to change his cell phone number in April last year after his long-standing number had been in the public domain for 15 years.

It is unclear why the messages were subsequently made available to the Election Commission investigation – and No.10 declined to answer questions, ahead of the publication of letters between the Prime Minister and Lord Geidt.

The adviser’s report, in May last year, found that the prime minister had acted “recklessly” by failing to ask the right questions about the redecorations, but cleared him of any wrongdoing.

In December, the Commission revealed messages had been sent by Mr Johnson to Tory donor Lord Brownlow, who helped fund the work, asking him to ‘authorize’ new payments.

Moreover, a year earlier, “Lord Brownlow confirmed to the Prime Minister that he had approved new work,” the watchdog said.

No 10 denied that Mr Johnson lied to Lord Geidt – arguing he only knew Lord Brownlow was handling the funding, not that he was the source of the money.

He had contacted him in November 2020 because he was the administrator of a blind trust to finance the work – despite the Commission report specifying that “the trust had not been formed”.

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