Even before Boris Johnson formally succeeded Theresa May as Prime Minister in 2019 there were problems over his use, or what some regarded as his abuse, of Chequers.
It led to the resignation of the head housekeeper after claims of tensions with Carrie Johnson.
Charlotte Vine MBE, who first worked at the prime minister’s official country residence in 2004, left with a payoff in 2020 after signing a non-disclosure agreement.
On a lighter note Mr Johnson called for someone to “please shoot that f****** dog” after damage caused by his terrier Dilyn at the 16th-century Buckinghamshire Manor house left him with a four-figure repair bill.
Relations between Mrs Johnson and Chequers head housekeeper Charlotte Vine were said to have deteriorated to such an extent that the prime minister’s wife refused to stay there when she was on duty.
The two women are said to have fallen out after Carrie Johnson made a personal accusation against Vine, which she denied.
The Johnsons are also said to have clashed with other Chequers staff over their “chaotic” use of the property.
Furthermore, cuts in the number of servants at Chequers ordered by David Cameron a decade ago during the austerity era were reversed under Mr Johnson.
It is believed up to four extra members of staff were taken on while he was prime minister.
The allegations of discontent involving staff echoed last year’s report into the Downing St ‘partygate’ scandal by former Whitehall ethics chief Sue Gray, which said that there had been a “lack of respect and poor treatment” for cleaners and security staff.
Miss Vine was said to have found her departure from Chequers “traumatic”.
Friction between Mr Johnson and Chequers staff are said to have started before he became prime minister. It is claimed that he and his future wife tried to “book” the use of Chequers before Mrs May left office in July 2019.
They were accused of failing to give enough notice before arriving.
An insider said: “The Johnsons were trying to arrange to get into Chequers before the Mays had gone. When he knew he was going to take over, they were trying to book ahead.”
The problems continued after Mr Johnson took office. “It was chaos, ‘Can we come now?’ or ‘We’re coming tomorrow’. They were told they couldn’t because there were no staff.”
The clash is alleged to have begun within weeks of Mr Johnson winning power. A source said: “Carrie took something Charlotte said completely the wrong way. It started over a catering matter. It led to Carrie refusing to go to Chequers when Charlotte was there.”
A minister said: “Before going to Chequers Carrie would ask, ‘Is Charlotte there?’ If she was, she would put off the visit, find out when she was off duty and go then, or not go at all.”
Vine left Chequers in January 2020. She resigned after facing disciplinary proceedings that were later dropped.
She had been accused of the “inappropriate handling of a personal item” belonging to Johnson that was found in his Chequers bathroom. The nature of the item is unknown. She denied wrongdoing and received a payoff.
When asked about the matter last year a spokeswoman for the former prime minister’s wife denied there was any personal dispute between Mrs Johnson and the head housekeeper. Nor had Mrs Johnson asked for staffing changes, said the spokeswoman.
Ms Vine joined Chequers as a steward when Sir Tony Blair was prime minister. In 2009 she became a housekeeper at Dorneywood, another government home in Buckinghamshire. She returned in 2013 as head housekeeper when Cameron was in power, and later worked there for May.
The taxpayer contributes £916,000 a year towards the upkeep of Chequers and it is mainly staffed by members of the armed forces. Mr Johnson’s ‘shoot that f****** dog’ outburst came after Dilyn had chewed on antique furniture and books at Chequers as well as making a mess on the floor. Mr Johnson told friends that he had to foot the bill for ‘making things good’.
An eyewitness described seeing the dog dart under the PM’s feet with an old book in its mouth while Mr Johnson was conducting a meeting. The PM reportedly shouted “for God’s sake, I’m going to get another £1,000 repair bill! Someone please shoot that f****** dog!”
The eyewitness added that they did not think Mr Johnson ”meant it literally”.
Another individual described a Laurel and Hardy-style farce with Mr Johnson on his knees attempting to reclaim the book from Dilyn’s clenched jaws. One visitor claimed to have seen Dilyn “mount” a stool made from the foot of an elephant shot by the US president Teddy Roosevelt.
On another occasion, a minister was taken aback at a Chequers gathering when Dilyn relieved himself during a discussion on foreign affairs.
“We ignored the pong at first,” they said. “Then everyone burst out laughing.”
Chequers has served as the country residence of every prime minister for a century. Given to the nation by Sir Arthur Lee, who set up a trust to pay for its upkeep, it is crammed with antiquities and art. The property’s wood-panelled Great Hall contains a 40ft-by-40ft rug and a grand piano beloved by Winston Churchill.
Chequers had been a 16th-century manor, with 1,500 acres in the Chiltern Hills, built by William Hawtrey, high sheriff of Buckingham and guardian to the sister of the short-lived monarch, Lady Jane Grey. Elizabeth I imprisoned Lady Mary Grey there after marrying without consent.
One of David Cameron’s aides slept in her room and reported, spookily, that the door had bolted itself shut. Churchill spent wartime weekends there.
Richard Nixon liked it so much that he paid for the installation of a swimming pool, though Margaret Thatcher, ever-watchful of the cost of running a home, ruled that the heating should be turned off.
