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Boris Johnson ‘planning to rent out London home’ amid flat refurbishment row

 (Getty Images)
(Getty Images)

Boris Johnson is planning to rent out his £1.2million south London home following backlash over the refurbishment of his Downing Street flat, according to reports.

It is understood the Prime Minister has remortgaged the townhouse he purchased with his fiancée Carrie Symonds in Camberwell, south London.

According to The Times, Mr Johnson has taken out a buy to let mortgage on the property and could rent it out for between £3,300 and £4,000 a month.

The couple bought the property in July 2019, with a mortgage from Santander and Land Registry.

The Times reports documents showed that the property was remortgaged with Clydesdale Bank in August 2020.

The prime minister also recently put his £1.2 million house near Thame in Oxfordshire up for rent.

Mr Johnson bought the house for £640,000 in 2003, shortly after becoming MP for Henley.

A buy-to-let mortgage was taken out last year with Barclays.

It comes after claims that the Downing Street refurbishment and divorce from ex-wife Marina Wheeler has left him short of cash.

Mr Johnson has come under scrutiny after it emerged that a Tory donor, Lord Brownlow of Shurlock Row, had agreed to help pay for the refurbishment of the apartment.

The Prime Minister was asked to pay for the extravagant renovation last spring.

In a heated exchange with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer last week, Mr Johnson said he “covered the costs.”

But he refused to respond to questions about whether any money was originally loaned to cover the costs.

An inquiry has now been launched.

Last week, it was also reported that a Tory donor had been approached to help cover the childcare costs for Mr Johnson’s son, Wilfred, as well as for his personal trainer.

An unidentified Tory MP received a complaint from a supporter who has been asked to pay for a nanny for the one-year-old, the Sunday Times reported.

The donor reportedly told the MP: “I don’t mind paying for leaflets but I resent being asked to pay to literally wipe the prime minister’s baby’s bottom.”

A No 10 spokeswoman said: “The Prime Minister has covered the cost of all childcare.”

Downing Street has been approached for comment.

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