Rishi Sunak and his family will not be moving into the flat formerly occupied by Boris Johnson and briefly by Liz Truss, it was confirmed today.
Instead the millionaire will go back to the two-bedroom flat above 10 Downing Street that he occupied when he was Chancellor - and already had redecorated himself.
Prime Ministers generally move into the four-bed pad at Number 11, which Mr Johnson famously had decorated with lavish £840-a-roll wallpaper during his tenure.
Mr Sunak took the top job yesterday as Ms Truss departed after a disastrous six-weeks in charge which barely gave her enough time to unpack.
The Prime Minister's press secretary said this afternoon that the Prime Minister and wife Akshata Murty will be returning to their former abode.
She told reporters: "They will be moving into the No 10 flat, where they used to live."
Asked whether they will redecorate, she said: "Not that I'm aware of."
Quizzed on why the family was moving to Number 10, rather than the bigger flat next door, she stated: "They were very happy there."
The couple were included on the Sunday Times Rich List of the UK's wealthiest people earlier this year - estimated to have a combined net worth of £730million.
They own four luxury homes worth around £15million, including a £6.6 million mansion in North Yorkshire which boasts five bedrooms, four bathrooms and two reception rooms spread over four storeys.
They also have a Grade II-listed Georgian manor house in the village of Kirby Sigston, located in his Richmond constituency, which the family use as a weekend retreat.
The Sunaks purchased the house for £1.5million in 2015 and have been transforming the property, with a £400,000 swimming pool, hot tub, yoga studio, gym and tennis court.
Although Number 10 is the Prime Minister's official residence, every leader and their family since 1997 has opted for the bigger home above Number 11 - traditionally where the Chancellor lives.
Tony Blair was the first PM to break tradition as he had a young family, while Chancellor Gordon Brown was unmarried at the time.
The Number 11 flat is set over two floors, and has been decorated several times over the years.
Mr Johnson's partner, now wife, Carrie Symonds is said to have described the home as a “John Lewis furniture nightmare” when the couple moved in after Theresa May departed.
Prime Ministers have a £30,000 annual budget to refurbish their Downing Street residence, but Mr Johnson came under the microscope after it emerged he had spent far more that.
Among the lavish decor was expensive wallpaper sold by designer Lulu Lytle, and it is not believed Ms Truss had time to tear it down if she did not like it.
Mr Johnson was subject to months of lurid headlines about the refurbishment of the flat.
A probe found he originally assumed a charitable trust, led by Tory donor Lord Brownlow, would fund the work.
But no such trust existed, and the idea then fell through due to legal concerns. So Lord Brownlow coughed up £112,549,42 himself.
After a media storm, the PM later "settled the full amount himself” - effectively paying back Lord Brownlow and the Conservative Party, who’d handled some of the money.
It later emerged Boris Johnson sent Lord Brownlow a message begging for cash in November 2020: “I am afraid parts of our flat are still a bit of a tip and am keen to allow Lulu Lytle to get on with it. Can I possibly ask her to get in touch with you for approvals?”
The PM failed to inform his own ethics advisor about the message. Instead he claimed he only knew the source of the money three months later.
Yet the PM escaped sanction after claiming the message was on his old phone, which he had to ditch after it emerged his number had been online for more than a decade.
The Conservative Party was fined £17,800 by the Electoral Commission in December for breaching electoral law over the way the money was recorded.
A £67k loan from Lord Brownlow included £52,801.72 to pay for revamping the flat. But Tory chiefs left that crucial £52,801.72 out of public records.
Questions were asked by a junior staffer in the Tory treasurer’s office. But a senior fundraising officer told them the £52k was for “something else…don’t worry.”
