Boris Johnson ‘faces parliamentary investigation’ over Caribbean holiday

Investigation latest in a string from parliamentary watchdogs over PM’s actions

Boris Johnson will be investigated by the parliamentary commissioner for standards because of the £15,000 winter break he took with his partner Carrie Symonds in the Caribbean, it has been reported.

Mr Johnson jetted off to St Vincent and the Grenadines with his now-fiancée shortly after his electoral victory, accepting their accommodation as a gift.

However, concern has since been raised, The Observer reported, after Mr Johnson recorded the benefit in the register of MPs’ interests as “accommodation for a private holiday for my partner and me, value £15,000” while writing that businessman David Ross was the provider.

A spokesperson for Mr Ross, a party donor, initially denied the Carphone Warehouse co-founder had contributed any money – but later clarified the villa was a “benefit in kind” to the PM and Ms Symonds during their private break to the island of Mustique.

No 10 declined to comment when contacted by The Independent.

The Observer reported that the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, Kathryn Stone, decided to pursue an official inquiry into Mr Johnson on Wednesday, and had requested information from the PM and Mr Ross.

The inquiry follows calls from Labour for an investigation into how the PM came to enjoy the free provision of a villa that would cost a five-figure sum to stay in.

In a letter to the commissioner last month, shadow Cabinet Office minister Jon Trickett said: “The code of conduct requires members to provide the name of the person or organisation that actually funded a donation.

“The evidence now suggests it was not David Ross. The entry made by the prime minister therefore appears to be incorrect.”

The trip provided Mr Johnson with a break after the election campaign, which produced a Conservative landslide for the first time since the 1980s.

But the PM faced criticism for failing to cut the festive holiday short when international tensions rose after the US killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani on 3 January.

The commissioner would investigate whether Mr Johnson has broken the MPs’ code of conduct, and forward any findings onto the Committee on Standards, which would review the evidence and, if appropriate, recommend a penalty.

Mr Johnson and Ms Symonds announced last week they became engaged at the end of 2019, and are expecting a baby early this summer.

It is not the first time Mr Johnson has been hauled before the commissioner.

In 2019 it was ruled Mr Johnson had breached House of Commons rules by failing to declare a financial interest in a property within the required time limit.

Four months prior he was forced to apologise over the late declaration of more than £52,000 of outside earnings – mostly royalties from his books covering subjects from Sir Winston Churchill to the Roman empire.

And four months before that the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments found he had broken the rule on how soon former ministers can take a new job, after he accepted a role writing a column for the Daily Telegraph for £275,000 per article.

Additional reporting by PA