Boris Johnson last night faced demands for a Commons probe into his living arrangements to establish whether he is being honest about the true rental value of a plush home he is staying in.
As millions of people struggle to keep a roof over their head in the cost of living crisis, the Mirror can reveal the former PM is residing in a £20million London property owned by the wife of Tory donor Lord Bamford.
Shameless Mr Johnson, who earned £1million from four speeches over six weeks since being forced out of Number 10, estimates the gift from Lady Carole Bamford is worth £10,000 a month.
But a similar home is being offered for rent for £30,000, more than the starting salary of nurses now denied a decent pay rise by Tories.
Our exclusive pictures show Mr Johnson leaving the property, which is in Knightsbridge, West London, round the corner from Harrods.
We understand he could face a complaint to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards over this issue of whether he has fully declared the true value of the gift.
It is not clear what if any rent Johnson pays for the house. Last night an aide claimed he did pay some but not how much.
Lib Dem Treasury spokeswoman Sarah Olney said: “The Standards Commissioner should look into this right away. Boris Johnson cannot be trusted to tell the truth.
“After all the times he has lied to the British public, why should we trust a single word he says, let alone the finances he declares?
“It is only right and proper this is investigated properly.”
Deputy Labour Leader Angela Rayner added: “Despite raking in hundreds of thousands since being forced out of Downing Street, Boris Johnson is sponging off billionaire Tory donors and squatting in a millionaire’s row mansion as he plots his comeback.
“The disgraced former PM is up to his old tricks once again and has questions to answer over whether he has properly declared his murky financial affairs.”
We are not identifying the street where he is staying but it is regularly described as one of the UK’s most expensive.
His register of interests records show he accepted the gift from Lady Carole for the “concessionary use of accommodation for me and my family” since September 2.
Liz Truss took over as PM on September 6.
Since September, the Bamfords have also loaned the Johnsons the use of a second property, estimated by the former Tory leader to be worth £3,500 a month. It is understood to be a cottage on the tycoon’s 1,500-acre Daylesford Estate in the Cotswolds.
Mr Johnson has accepted Bamford’s hospitality, despite earning £1m from four speeches in six weeks since being forced out of Number 10.
According to his register of interests, Johnson owns part or all of three properties in London, Oxfordshire and Somerset which are rented out - but the Mirror can reveal that one has been recently sold for £1.4m, netting him and wife Carrie a £200,000 profit.
A spokesman for Mr Johnson said: “All of Boris Johnston’s interests including accommodation are properly registered and published in the Register of Members Interests.”
Sonia Purnell, author of Johnson biography Just Boris, said: “As long as I have known him, Johnson has refused to dip into his own pockets, preferring instead to live off other people’s largesse.
“The problem with this though is how can he remain an independent free-thinking MP when he is so indebted to other people? Is this appropriate?
“I’m not sure his constituents would be happy with this arrangement. He is still the MP for Uxbridge after all.”
Our exclusive pictures show Mr Johnson leaving a property in Knightsbridge which is owned by Carole Bamford, wife of JCB boss Lord Bamford.
It is located in the heart of one of the most exclusive parts of west London, a stone’s throw from the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Mr Johnson’s register of interests records show that he has accepted the gift from Lady Carole Bamfords of “concessionary use of accommodation for me and my family” since September 2, valued at £10,000 a month. Mr Johnson was forced out of Downing Street days later on September 6.
His register of interests also shows that he has accepted more free accommodation from the Bamfords for “use of another property for accommodation for me and my family” since September 16, valued at £3,500 a month.
The Bamfords contributed £23,853 towards Mr Johnson’s marriage to Carrie in July, donating the hire of a Marquee, portaloos, food and waiting staff, an ice cream van and a visit from caterers “Smoke and Braai”, whose speciality is a South African outdoor grill.
Mr Johnson’s property portfolio includes a fifth of a property in Somerset, which he failed to declare within 28 days as required and led to the Commons standards committee saying he had “an over-casual attitude towards obeying the rules of the house”.
Since moving into the Bamford’s houses in September, Boris and Carrie have sold their house in Camberwell for £1.4m in November. They bought it in 2019 for £1.2m, netting them a £200,000 profit.
In 2021, Mr Johnson advertised his farmhouse in Thame, Oxfordshire, up for rent for £4,250 a month. He bought it with his second wife Marina Wheeler for £690,000 in 2003 and it is now thought to be worth £1.2m.
He continues to be paid £84,144 a year as an MP and is entitled to an £18,860 severance payment after being forced to quit as Prime Minister.
Mr Johnson has recorded that he earned more than £1m giving speeches in just six weeks since leaving Number 10.
He was paid £276,130 for a speech in New York to the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers on October 14 and then £277,723.89 by Centerview Partners LLP to deliver a second speech in the city on November 9.
On November 17, he was paid £261,652.34 by the Hindustan Times for a speech in Delhi, followed six days later by a payment of £215,275.98 by Televisao Independente for a speech at the CNN Global Summit in Lisbon, Portugal.
Johnson controversially accepted a £15,000 free holiday to the Caribbean while Prime Minister in 2019 from Tory donor David Ross.
