Boris Johnson ‘living in property connected to wealthy Tory donor’

Boris Johnson has been living in a property owned by the wife of a wealthy Tory donor in one of the most exclusive parts of London, it has been reported.

Since leaving office, the Daily Mirror said the former prime minister has been residing at the property in Knightsbridge “around the corner from Harrods” owned by Lady Carole Bamford, the wife of JCB tycoon Lord Bamford.

In his entry in the Register of Members Interest, Mr Johnson has declared the “concessionary use of accommodation for me and my family” provided by Lady Carole worth an estimated £10,000 a month for three months since the beginning of September.

He also declared the use of another property – again for himself and his family – owned by Lord Bamford and Lady Carole – worth £3,500 a month from mid-September to mid-December.

The Mirror said the property was believed to be a cottage on Lord Bamford’s Daylesford Estate in the Cotswolds.

A source close to Mr Johnson denied a claim by the paper that he was living rent free and rejected the suggestion that he had under-declared the value of the donation.

A spokesman for the former prime minister said: “All of Boris Johnston’s interests including accommodation are properly registered and published in the Register of Members Interests.”

Since leaving office in September, Mr Johnson has declared more than £1 million in speaking fees.