‘Who did it, Michelangelo?’: Downing Street slammed for £80k renovation

THE UK Government has been slammed after it spent up to £80,000 renovating the Downing Street press briefing room to rid it of “Tory blue”.

According to The Times, the refurbishment has seen the blue backdrop behind the main podium removed, as well as blue panels on the wall and around a screen used to give presentations.

Large grey panels have also been replaced with a new wooden backdrop, while the blue carpet has been changed for a more monochrome design.

The briefing room pictured in 2023, while Rishi Sunak was prime minister (Image: PA) While some patches of blue panel remain, they are at the back of the room, out of shot of TV cameras.

‘Labour anxious to paint over Tory colours’

The TV briefing room in No 9 Downing Street was first opened in spring 2021 under Boris Johnson, at a cost of £2.6 million.

At the time, Labour criticised the spending as a “vanity project”, while the SNP accused the Tories of having "one rule for [them] and another for the rest of us".

Now, the SNP have criticised the UK Government’s decision to revamp the Downing Street TV briefing room, claiming that Labour “are incredibly anxious to paint over Tory colours” while side-lining more important issues.

Speaking to The National, the party’s deputy Westminster leader Pete Wishart (below) said: “An £80,000 paint job for one room in Downing Street? Who did they get to do it, Michelangelo?

“The Labour Party are incredibly anxious to paint over Tory colours in Downing Street offices, but it’s a shame that same motivation hasn’t been applied to scrapping the two-child cap, protecting the Winter Fuel Payment, compensating the Waspi women or undoing the damage of Brexit.”

The UK Government said that the redecoration took place over the Christmas break to give the room a more neutral appearance.

However, the work appears to not be fully complete – with a wooden bar affixed to the wall behind the podium that is expected to hang the UK Government crest.

The official cost of the project will be confirmed in the Cabinet Office’s annual accounts, which are due later this year.

A UK Government spokesperson said: “A one-off refresh of the No 9 media briefing room took place to rightly restore the room to a politically neutral setting.”