THE BLAIRS (1997-2007) - How Cherie Blair joked decor 'might have been state-of-the-art in the 1960s' and ordered in 70-a-roll wallpaper in what would become a 127,000 makeover over six years. Inside Downing Street Unlike Symonds, Mrs Cameron had trained as an interior decorator so would have been able to shave costs and nail bargains. The four-bedroom residence is located upstairs, Floor plans for Number 10 and 11 Downing Street show the second floor of the complex has a large number of bedrooms, Number 11 Downing Street is pictured in 2005, eight years after Tony Blair became PM and opted for the four-bedroom flat, Number 11 Downing Street, pictured in 2005, remained a product of the 1960s until Tony and Cherie Blair arrived in 1997, THE BROWNS (2007-2010) - How Gordon Brown was happy with an 'adequate' and 'old fashioned' kitchen for his wife Sarah to cook him 'homely' meals. runs the risk of claims of conflict of interest if it is seen as a back-door way of providing a financial benefit to the PM. Read our, {{#verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}}. Cherie reportedly spent 127,000 on modernising the flat with custom-glass . The building works estimate, which included painting, having the floorboards sanded, and installing new furnishings and fittings, came to 30,000. It is being reported on Wednesday that the Prime Minister told . Hawara: 'What happened was horrific and barbaric'. Miss Symonds has suggested the Charity Commission's inquiry is all perfectly normal. The Johnsons' estimate included a 'Nureyev Trolley' worth 3,675, and said to be 'inspired by a French 1940s drinks trolley owned by ballet dancer Rudolph Nureyev', according to the leaked estimate. The Camerons also let the cameras in to photograph the Prime Minister working in the sitting room and meeting foreign heads of state - and his wife hosting charity meetings around the breakfast table. In response, Johnson said he had met all the costs personally. Any money used from Tory party donors to add to that allowance could potentially be in breach of the ministerial code and parliamentary standard rules, even if Mr Johnson effectively paid the money back. Lord Geidt's report in May had concluded that Mr Johnson did not break the ministerial code over the funding of the renovations. Met considering whether to investigate PM over Downing Street flat refurb, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. But insiders say the proposal stemmed from the soaring cost of a makeover of the No 11 flat, which is preferred by prime ministers with families because it is bigger than the No 10 flat. And when Mr Brown had a family of his own with his wife Sarah, they were based in his own Westminster house, before moving into the Number 11 flat when Mr Brown became PM in 2007. They added:'It's very plain and bare. Mr Blair was in office the longest, but also spent the most amount of money every year out of the past four prime ministers. The Conservative Party was fined 17,800 after the Electoral Commission found it had failed to accurately declare all of Lord Brownlow's donations towards the renovation. Boris Johnson 'spent 840 a roll on wallpaper' as SNP accuse PM of living like French king. The Conservative Party was fined 17,800 after the Electoral Commission found it had failed to accurately declare all of Lord Brownlow's donations towards the renovation. Further questions have been asked about the funding of home improvements at the prime minister's Downing Street flat, following the release of an exchange of letters with his standards adviser. A friend of hers told the Daily Mail: "The makeover is appropriate for a building of such huge importance. She added: 'It might have been state-of-the-art in the Sixties, but that was then.' Johnson pressed ahead with the renovation plan after his landslide election win in December 2019. There has been speculation as much as 200,000 has been spent on refurbishing the four-bedroom residence by Mr Johnson and Carrie Symonds, the PM's fiancee and mother of their baby, Wilfred. The Charity Commission said it was not aware of any application to set up a Downing Street charity. Lord Brownlow was asked in May 2020 to set up a Downing Street trust that would fund renovations to the flat above 11 Downing Street, but that trust was never established. That left a massive shortfall. What is the row between Boris Johnson and Dominic Cummings all about? Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group, The scheme is based on one used by the White House to raise millions of dollars for interior design, antiques and art - a. presidential charity which is bankrolled by private donors. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. It is not uncommon for new prime ministers to want to renovate their grace-and-favour Downing Street flat. The Electoral Commission report led to further controversy because it referred to an exchange of WhatsApp messages between the prime minister and Lord Brownlow, which had not been seen by the adviser on standards, Lord Geidt, when he had reported on the case earlier in the year. Mr Johnson says he has now covered all the costs out of his own pocket. The concern is that if a financial gift is kept secret, it might be used to gain favours or political influence. The Camerons completely re-decorated, changing the rather aging interiors of No 11 into a much more modern home. Mr Johnson has complained the cost of the refurbishment by Carrie Symonds was 'totally out of control', the Daily Mail has been told. Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds moved into No 11 Downing Street in July 2019, The prime minister lives in a flat above 11 Downing Street, Michelle Obama and Samantha Cameron pictured in the flat at 11 Downing St, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece. by . And despite the controversy surrounding the renovation becoming known as 'Wallpapergate', the most expensive item from the wallpaper estimate was 2,250 for 10 rolls of'Espalier Square design' proposed to be used in the entrance hall. A photoshoot with The Sunday Times revealed the Mays had included some of their own touches to the Cameron's refurb, with a 100 table lamp from John Lewis and a new Habitat coffee table. When Tony Blair and Gordon Brown moved into Downing Street in 1997, Mr Blair persuaded the then-single Mr Brown to vacate the Chancellor's flat at Number 11 to provide room for the prime minister's young family. He is charged just 2,500 a month for Howletts mansion, a Grade II-listed Palladian pile it owns in rural Kent. 2023 BBC. The restyled dcor is said to have been inspired by interior designer Lulu Lytle. The only other person who could have investigated Johnson was parliaments standards commissioner, Kathryn Stone. Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds had work carried out on their private residence, the flat above 11 Downing Street. The renovation, under the high-end designer Lulu Lytle, cost at least 112,000, and included gold-coloured wallpaper and fittings. The Blairs completely re-decorated after it was left almost untouched since the 1960s by successive chancellors, who always used to have No 11 as their residence. Soane's clients include five-star hotels and restaurants, private members' clubs, boardrooms, yachts and private houses all over the world, Mrs Lytle, 49, says her furniture, upholstery, lighting, fabrics and wallpapers all aim to 'contribute to the joyful atmosphere of any interior', Born and raised in Worcestershire, the youngest of four sisters, Lucy Elizabeth Kottler, known as 'Lulu', developed a romantic passion for Egypt and took a degree in Egyptology, She built up her Soane Britain interior design studio by scouring the country for the best artisan blacksmiths, cabinet makers, upholsterers and stone carvers. Lord Geidt's report in May had concluded that Mr Johnson did not break the ministerial code over the funding of the renovations. ', However, commission sources told the Daily Mail: 'A routine check of their accounts in November raised a number of red flags, and these concerns are now being looked at. First Lady Michelle Obama and Samantha Cameron, wife of British Prime Minister David Cameron, talk before having tea in the private residence at Downing Street in2011, David Cameron in the Downing Street Kitchen, Samantha Cameron, the wife of Prime Minister David Cameron, has breakfast in her Downing Street apartment with Philip Kiley (left), eight, from Chorley in Lancashire, and Stevie Tyrie, eight, from Manchester, as part of her support for the charity Contact A Family which helps families with disabled children, Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown is pictured in his more business-like Downing Street home in 2010, Prime Minister Theresa May (left) and Philip May (right) with US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump view a historical document in Downing Street, Freya, British Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne's cat, sits on a table in a room in Downing Street, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and British Prime Minister David Cameron walk up the stairs at 10 Downing Street in 2011. Unlike Symonds, Mrs Cameron had trained as an interior decorator so would have been able to shave costs and nail bargains. Pic: British History Online, The Camerons topped up the annual refurb allowance with their own money, Tony and Cherie Blair spent the most amount of taxpayer's money on refurbishing No 11, Gordon and Sarah Brown having some of their furniture moved out of No 11 in 2010, Michelle Obama and Samantha Cameron in No 11 after it was redecorated, Theresa and Philip May spent less than half their annual allowance in three years. Founded by the late John Aspinall, a friend of Lord Lucan, the foundation helps gorillas in the Congo and runs other conservation projects. A post shared by SOANE BRITAIN (@soanebritain). Hawara: 'What happened was horrific and barbaric'. The walls of the family-friendly flat will have seen their fair share of intrigue and drama over the years but none likely to be as damaging as this weeks scandal over Boris Johnsons spending on decor. The crossbench peer will launch his own review into what happened with the Downing Street flat refurbishment, making it the third being undertaken - joining the Electoral Commission probe and a. The exact square footage of No11 is unknown but given the average size of a UK four-bedroom residence is 140 square metres, wallpapering the flat with Lytles fabrics could cost upwards of 14,000 at a minimum. Ah the infamous 'gold wallpaper'that has (apparently, allegedly) been plastered all over the walls of Downing Street, and put the Prime Minister so far out of pocket. A picture of Samantha Cameron and Michelle Obama chatting on a mustard yellow sofa shows, her own which she had recovered in Notting Hill. The cheapest item on the estimate frominterior designer Lulu Lytle's company Soane Britain was a 500 kitchen table cloth, while 3,000 had been proposed for a 'paint effect' for the flat's hallway and two Aten hurricane lights cost 1,775 each. He is said to have agreed to the proposal. 'A new charity with privately raised money to preserve it in great shape for all time is great value for the taxpayer and a great idea.'. Harry and Meghan told to 'vacate' Frogmore Cottage, Ed Sheeran says wife developed tumour in pregnancy, Rare Jurassic-era bug found at Arkansas Walmart, Prince Andrew offered Frogmore Cottage - reports, Baby's body found as police continue to question couple, Man survives 31 days in jungle by eating worms, China and Belarus call for peace in Ukraine, Bieber cancels remaining Justice world tour dates, Havana Syndrome unlikely to have hostile cause - US. There are still unanswered questions over how the refurbishment of Boris Johnsons Downing Street flat was funded. Now, it has been claimed Boris Johnson is secretly trying to set up a charity to help pay for a costly makeover of the Cameron's flat by his fiance Carrie Symonds after claiming the cost was 'totally out of control'. 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