Boris Johnson given £24,000 donation to cover wedding costs including ‘ice cream van’

Money also covered flowers and a barbeque, official records show

(PA)

A Tory donor donated £24,000 to Boris Johnson to help cover aspects of the then-prime minister’s wedding - including an ice cream van.

The money was also used to pay for flowers and a South African barbeque, according to official records published on Thursday.

Lord Anthony and Lady Carole Bamford provided the cash, which also helped to cover marquee hire, portaloos, catering and waiting staff.

Lord Bamford, a major Tory donor and the chairman of the construction equipment manufacturer JCB, hosted the party for Mr Johnson and his wife Carrie on 30 July.

The Johnsons were joined by family and friends at the 18th-century Daylesford House in the Cotswolds to celebrate after the coronavirus pandemic forced them to scale back their wedding day.

The £23,853 donation detailed in the latest register of MPs' financial interests showed the party included a braai, a type of South African barbecue.

(PA)

Mr Johnson has repeatedly benefited from Lord Bamford's donations, with the billionaire Tory peer supporting the MP's 2019 bid to become Conservative leader.

The ex-PM would make visits to JCB plants in front of the media's gaze, including to a factory in India and a Staffordshire plant where he used a digger to knock down a wall in a stunt to demonstrate he could "get Brexit done".

Lord Bamford's wife, Lady Carole Bamford, established the upmarket Daylesford Organic Farm, with a chain of shops selling its produce across London.