Boris drafts in Lord Geidt as new ministerial sleaze adviser

Boris drafts in Queen’s ex-private secretary Lord Geidt as new ministerial sleaze adviser with orders to probe No11 flat refurb funding – but the PM STILL has the final say over whether code was breached

  • Lord Geidt has been appointed new independent adviser on ministerial interests
  • The peer was private secretary to the Queen for a decade before his latest role
  • He has been asked to investigate funding of the Downing Street renovations  

Boris Johnson today drafted in the Queen‘s former private secretary as his new ministerial sleaze adviser – with his first job being to probe the funding of the No11 flat refurbishment. 

Lord Geidt, a crossbencher who held the key role with the monarch for a decade before standing down in 2017, has been appointed as the PM’s independent adviser on ministerial interests.

He has been tasked with ‘ascertaining the facts’ over the Downing Street works and telling Mr Johnson if he needs to make any declarations. 

The post has been vacant since the departure of Sir Alex Allan, who left after Mr Johnson overruled the findings of his inquiry into alleged bullying of officials by Home Secretary Priti Patel.

There have been calls for the powers of the adviser to be beefed up, after criticism that they can only launch investigations with the premier’s approval, who also has the final say on action against ministers.

But it emerged this afternoon that Lord Geidt must still ‘raise the issue confidentially with the PM’ if he believes there has been a breach.

And Downing Street stressed that Mr Johnson remains the ‘ultimate arbiter of the code’. 

Lord Geidt

Lord Geidt

Boris Johnson

Boris Johnson

Lord Geidt (left), a crossbencher who was private secretary to the Queen for a decade, has been appointed as the PM’s (right) independent adviser on ministerial interests

Boris Johnson is facing pressure over the makeover of his No11 flat, where he lives with fiancee Carrie Symonds and their son

Boris Johnson is facing pressure over the makeover of his No11 flat, where he lives with fiancee Carrie Symonds and their son

Boris Johnson is facing pressure over the makeover of his No11 flat, where he lives with fiancee Carrie Symonds and their son

New adviser was Queen’s right-hand man for a decade 

The PM’s new adviser on ministerial interests spent 10 years as the Queen’s right hand man.  

Lord Geidt served as the monarch’s Private Secretary until 2017 – a role that requires the utmost discretion.

He was widely regarded as one of her most invaluable aides. 

On stepping down from the prestigious post, he was elevated to the Lords in a sign of the high esteem in which he was held.

He sits as a cross-bencher, meaning he does not align with any particular political party. 

Alongside his part-time role with No10, Lord Geidt is Chairman of King’s College London – where he once studied – and a chairman at Schroders plc. 

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Lord Geidt’s immediate task is to finalise a new version of the list of ministerial interests – which is meant to be published twice a year but has not been updated since last July.

Mr Johnson is expected to include some details of the murky financial background in the list when it emerges. 

Announcing the appointment today, the Cabinet Office said: The Prime Minister and Lord Geidt have agreed that Lord Geidt will begin by ascertaining the facts surrounding the refurbishment of the Downing Street flat and advise the Prime Minister on any further registration of interests that may be needed. 

‘In doing this, Lord Geidt will draw on the work presently being undertaken by the Cabinet Secretary, to coincide with the publication of a new List of Ministers’ Interests.’ 

At PMQs, Mr Johnson indicated he will make whatever other declarations the adviser recommends.

The premier clashed bitterly with Keir Starmer during the session after the elections watchdog launched a formal probe into whether ‘offences’ have been committed in the Downing Street flat row.

A clearly incensed PM insisted he ‘paid for the refurbishment myself’ and had abided by the ministerial code despite the Electoral Commission saying there were ‘reasonable grounds to suspect’ the law might have been broken over the controversial No11 refurbishment. 

But as Sir Keir demanded he ‘answer the question’ he repeatedly dodged saying whether £58,000 of Tory funds had originally been used for the works, before he repaid the money. 

‘I paid for it,’ he said. ‘I have covered the costs.’ 

Trying to deflect the attack by saying it was ‘bizarre’ and ‘irrelevant’ of Sir Keir to keep pushing on the issue, Mr Johnson added that he has asked the new independent adviser on ministerial interests to look into whether he needs to make ‘any further declaration’. ‘I look forward to what the Electoral Commission has to say.’ 

But the Labour leader shot back: ‘The Prime Minister hasn’t answered the question, he knows he hasn’t answered the question, he never answers the question.’ 

Scrutiny over the overhaul of the flat above No11 where Mr Johnson and fiancee Carrie Symonds and son Wilf live has refused to abate despite the government’s efforts to draw a line under the issue. 

Downing Street has declined to deny that Tory funds were used to cover £58,000 of the costs – on top of the £30,000 annual allowance given by the taxpayer.

But the gift last July has not been declared anywhere as yet, and Mr Johnson now insists he has paid the sum himself – with speculation he took out a loan. 

No10 has come under fire for saying Conservative funds are not currently being used for a refurbishment, without addressing the issue of whether they were in the past.

In a statement an hour earlier that heaped pressure on the PM, the Electoral Commission said: ‘We have been in contact with the Conservative Party since late March and have conducted an assessment of the information they have provided to us. 

Boris Johnson today flatly denied that he had suggested he would rather 'let bodies pile up' than trigger another lockdown last Autumn

Boris Johnson today flatly denied that he had suggested he would rather 'let bodies pile up' than trigger another lockdown last Autumn

Keir Starmer

Keir Starmer

Boris Johnson (left) today clashed brutally with Keir Starmer (right) at PMQs today

In fact, the upmarket interior eco designer Lulu Lytle (designs pictured) – whose Soane Britain company was commissioned by Miss Symonds – sells ‘Yellow Gold’ and ‘Old Gold’ wallpaper

In fact, the upmarket interior eco designer Lulu Lytle (designs pictured) – whose Soane Britain company was commissioned by Miss Symonds – sells ‘Yellow Gold’ and ‘Old Gold’ wallpaper

In fact, the upmarket interior eco designer Lulu Lytle (designs pictured) – whose Soane Britain company was commissioned by Miss Symonds – sells ‘Yellow Gold’ and ‘Old Gold’ wallpaper

‘We are now satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to suspect that an offence or offences may have occurred. We will therefore continue this work as a formal investigation to establish whether this is the case.

‘The investigation will determine whether any transactions relating to the works at 11 Downing Street fall within the regime regulated by the Commission and whether such funding was reported as required.

‘We will provide an update once the investigation is complete. We will not be commenting further until that point.’

The commission looks at whether the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 has been broken – although it can refer more serious offences to the police. It is not clear what part of the Act it believes might have been breached, but penalties can range from a fine to up to a year in prison.   

Lord Geidt: The Queen’s ‘eyes and ears’ who was welcomed back into the fold to devise a plan for Prince Harry and Meghan to live in Africa

Prince Charles and his brother Andrew reportedly inspired a backstairs coup to oust the Queen’s most senior courtier in July 2017, just four months before Prince Harry and Meghan were due to become engaged.

Sir Christopher Geidt, then 56, had provoked the Prince of Wales with a speech to around 500 royal staff announcing Prince Philip’s retirement.

The experienced strategist, who had earlier worked in Army intelligence, had also forced Andrew to step down as UK Trade Ambassador in 2011 over his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

He also managed Andrew’s expenditure and had blocked some of his helicopter and private jet excursions.

The Duchess of Sussex is greeted by Lord Geidt as she arrives for a panel discussion convened by the Queen's Commonwealth Trust to mark International Women's Day at King's College in London in March 2019

The Duchess of Sussex is greeted by Lord Geidt as she arrives for a panel discussion convened by the Queen's Commonwealth Trust to mark International Women's Day at King's College in London in March 2019

The Duchess of Sussex is greeted by Lord Geidt as she arrives for a panel discussion convened by the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust to mark International Women’s Day at King’s College in London in March 2019

Based in Buckingham Palace, the Queen’s private secretary could be described as the COO — chief operating officer — of ‘The Firm’ and had run the royal show sensitively for around a decade, reported the Daily Mail.

Queen Elizabeth II, then 91, gave in to her son’s demands. One courtier commented that, at such an age, ‘you don’t want the hassle of having a big fight, do you? Isn’t it better that everything calms down?’

An extremely senior and distinguished court correspondent condemned the decision, labelling it as the ‘one of the most shameful, and frankly shabby’ moves that the Queen has made in her entire reign.

The correspondent added: ‘All Geidt wanted was to have everyone singing from the same hymn sheet, but that is not Charles’s agenda any more.’ 

He was succeeded by Sir Edward Young, who sanctioned Andrew’s use of Buckingham Palace for his disastrous Newsnight interview in November 2019 and allegedly clashed with Meghan.

‘As things started to go wrong,’ said someone who watched the new Duchess’s relationship deteriorate with the private secretary, ‘Meghan came to perceive Young as the inflexible, bureaucratic figure who summed up what was at fault with the palace mentality, and the feeling was mutual.

The Queen is seen greeting Lord Geidt on her arrival with the Duchess of Cambridge to visit Kings College, central London, in March 2019

The Queen is seen greeting Lord Geidt on her arrival with the Duchess of Cambridge to visit Kings College, central London, in March 2019

The Queen is seen greeting Lord Geidt on her arrival with the Duchess of Cambridge to visit Kings College, central London, in March 2019

‘Young really came to dislike Meghan’s style.’

One veteran royal analyst said: ‘Geidt would have put on his thinking cap.

‘He would have reflected on the big picture — what it meant to the monarchy and Britain as a whole.

‘He would have talked to the couple to ask them what they wanted to do, then come up with some defined strategy.

‘He would have looked at our multi-racial country and got them committed to some exciting new initiative — Meghan as a newcomer and Harry as a wavering team-member — so they felt pledged to the way ahead and could see how its success required them to stick at the job.’

In early 2019, it was announced that the Queen had decided to return Geidt to her side as her Permanent Lord-in-Waiting.

The move came amid a new strategy to integrate the young Duchess more fully into royal life — ‘Lord Geidt will be Her Majesty’s eyes and ears,’ said a courtier. 

The former private secretary and the Queen sat down to frame a plan with Sir David Manning, a former ambassador to the US, to get Harry and Meghan out of the country for a ‘decent spell’. 

The Queen wanted to offer the couple a role in her British Commonwealth of Nations, potentially in South Africa. It is not clear why the move broke down.

A palace insider said: ‘There were obviously points of principle to defend, but Edward got stuck in the detail. He could not see the bigger picture.

‘This sort of family negotiation requires trust, along with the accepting of uncertainties and ambiguities. There can be no absolute guarantees for either side.

‘Christopher Geidt would have handled it so differently — he had the skills. Geidt might even have landed that classic royal compromise in which nobody loses.’

 

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