Downing Street refurbishment: What is the row over Boris Johnson's flat?
Boris Johnson is continuing to face questions over how expensive renovations at his Downing Street flat were paid for.
The UK's top civil servant Simon Case has now been asked to review how the refurbishment was funded. What's the row about? The prime minister and his fiancee Carrie Symonds carried out renovations on their private residence, the flat above 11 Downing Street. There has been speculation the bill could be as much as £200,000, despite the fact the prime minister only receives an annual public grant of £30,000 to spend on the flat. The issue was thrust into the spotlight on Friday after a blog post by his former chief adviser, Dominic Cummings. Mr Cummings alleged Mr Johnson once planned to have donors "secretly pay" for the work on his flat. He said this was "unethical, foolish, possibly illegal and almost certainly broke the rules on proper disclosure of political donations if conducted in the way he intended". Labour wants the prime minister to reveal the full amount spent and who paid in the first place. What has the government said? The government insists that Boris Johnson paid for the refurbishments out of his own pocket. it is less clear whether the money was originally loaned from another source (a private donor, for example), who the prime minister then paid back. Asked whether he had ever discussed using donations to pay for refurbishments, Mr Johnson said: "If there's anything to be said about that, any declaration to be made, that will of course be made in due course." If Boris Johnson accepted money, why would this be controversial? There is a question of transparency. Like all MPs, the prime minister has a duty to declare - within 28 days - any donations or loans which could influence his actions. However, Dr Hannah White - the former head of the Committee on Standards in Public Life - told the BBC that Mr Johnson had a "bit of a record" on late declarations, and he had failed to meet the deadline on 10 occasions. The Electoral Commission - the body regulating electoral and political finance - says it is trying to establish whether any funds relating to the renovations fall within the remit of political donations, and need to be published. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has urged a "full and transparent investigation". Speaking to reporters on Monday, he said: "It's all very well the prime minister saying now 'I paid for it', the critical question was: what was the original arrangement - and why is it so complicated?" What's been reported about possible donations? The government has been looking at the question of funding the Downing Street buildings through a charitable trust - similar arrangements already exist for other official residences such as Chequers and Dorneywood. According to the Daily Mail, Tory peer Lord Brownlow is reported to have said last October he was making a donation of £58,000 to the Conservative party, "to cover the payments the party has already made on behalf of the soon to be formed 'Downing Street Trust'". Speaking to MPs, Simon Case also confirmed that Lord Brownlow had been asked to chair such a trust, and seek out cross-party trustees. To date, no trust has been formed. Mr Case said that it was a "genuinely complicated" issue, with questions for the government and the Charity Commission over how it would be regulated. However, he said that a charitable trust couldn't cover the private areas of Downing Street. Why does the PM live next door to No 10? Like several of his recent predecessors, Mr Johnson and Ms Symonds are living at No 11 because the four-bedroom flat there is much larger than the one above No 10. Tony Blair was the first prime minister to live at No 11 - he and his wife Cherie turned the space into a family home for themselves and their three (later four) children. The Grade 1-listed flat was then extensively refurbished by David and Samantha Cameron in 2011 at a cost of £30,000. The latest upgrade for the flat was carried out by interior designer Lulu Lytle, a source has told the BBC. The couple wanted to transform the flat from Mr Johnson's predecessor Theresa May's "John Lewis furniture nightmare" into a "high society haven", according to the society magazine Tatler.