Boris Johnson ‘on holiday with Carrie in Spain’

Another of those “drip-feed” revelations about BJ’s holidays, it seems.

Up until now, there has been no mention of Zac Goldsmith’s presence at the villa.

contradicted by this report which says Goldsmith isn’t there…

Here’s a new article about Boris painting a sunset in his shorts. Fiddling while Rome burns?

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Documents seen by the Guardian indicate the luxurious villa, lent to him by environment minister Zac Goldsmith, has been held by an opaque offshore structure based in multiple tax havens. The papers suggest the minister and his family may have owned the property through a Maltese company held by companies in the Turks and Caicos Islands and administered by a wealth planning firm based in Switzerland. Goldsmith refused to answer questions about the arrangements, though his spokesperson did not issue a denial.

There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing by Goldsmith, who has declared his interest in the secluded villa. But Johnson’s holiday at a property that appears to be held through a chain of companies in secretive jurisdictions will probably raise questions about his commitment to reforms designed to introduce transparency to offshore property ownership in the UK.

On Monday, a Downing Street spokesperson refused to discuss whether there was a potential conflict of interest in Johnson accepting a holiday from a peer whom he ennobled and made a minister.

Since becoming a peer, Goldsmith has declared in the House of Lords register of interests that he holds an interest in a property in the Andalucía region of Spain via a family trust. The register suggests that a Spanish company owning the property is in turn owned by a holding company, Bora Investments. Goldsmith has not denied that Bora Investments is a Maltese company incorporated in 2007, which until at least 2016 was owned by two secretive nominee entities in the Turks and Caicos, where companies do not pay corporation tax. The documents, shared with the Guardian by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalist (ICIJ), suggest Bora Investments has used two separate BVI companies as nominee directors. These two BVI companies were operated by an exclusive wealth planning firm which also administered a BVI company co-owned by Goldsmith’s brother, Ben Goldsmith, and the Conservative party co-chair Ben Elliot.

In October 2018, Goldsmith and his family appear to have incorporated a new company in Spain to hold the hillside estate in the Costa del Sol. The peer’s register of interests suggests this company is controlled by Bora Investments. In a statement, Goldsmith’s spokesperson said he has “followed the ministerial interests process set out in the ministerial code.” She added: “His interests have been reviewed by the Cabinet Office and the prime minister’s independent adviser on ministerial interests. Other relevant interests have correctly been reported in line with the House of Lords’ code of conduct.”

She did not respond to specific questions about whether Johnson is reimbursing Goldsmith for use of the property or why the peer has not declared any rental income from the property, which is marketed online for rentals, reportedly for as much as £25,000 a week.

Inside the box … :wink:

I’d like to see that painting - BJ’s previous efforts have been less than impressive:

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I did see a painting he did while in Spain - I’ll try and find it again, but it was in a similar style to this one… :joy:

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Any luck?

Millionaire environment minister Lord Zac Goldsmith made headlines this week after it emerged Boris Johnson had jetted off for a holiday in the peer’s luxury Spanish villa.

NEDs are supposed to be independent officials who “oversee performance and delivery” in a government department. Ben Goldsmith was made a NED (Non-executive Director) at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) by then Environment Secretary Michael Gove in 2018. But he failed to give up the job, which pays £15,000 for 15 days work a year, when his brother Zac was made a DEFRA minister by Boris Johnson the following year. Then Zac was allowed to keep his job, despite being voted out as MP for Richmond Park in the 2019 election, after the PM made him a Lord. DEFRA does not believe there is a conflict of interest in Ben Goldsmith’s role.

There’s no suggestion either Ben or Lord Goldsmith have broken any rules.

Cosy for cronies … :roll_eyes:

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No luck…seems it was a mock up of what he could have painted. I did see though, that he appears to be emulating Churchill :joy:

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Shame … although his mother was, apparently, an artist (1) and BJ is alleged to have “dabbled” with the brush, I have never seen any of BJ’s “works”, well, apart from the “bug”.

(1) https://artuk.org/search/search/search/keyword:charlotte-johnson-wahl--referrer:global-search

BJ sees himself as Churchill in every way - just listen to his prepared speeches - and he’s certainly as shambolic as the young Churchill … :open_mouth:

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bjhandpaint

Another artistic effort. :roll_eyes:

Wasn’t there a tv drama about the young Churchill?

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Boris Johnson has admitted receiving a free holiday at a luxurious Spanish villa linked to Zac Goldsmith, the former MP who was given a peerage and job by the prime minister.

The latest update to the register of ministerial interests revealed that Johnson’s near week-long stay in the Marbella property in October was funded by the Goldsmith family.

It did not specify how much the holiday was worth but this is likely to be declared separately in the register of MPs’ interests. The property is marketed online for rentals, reportedly for as much as £25,000 a week

The register said: “The prime minister has a longstanding personal friendship with the Goldsmith family and, in that capacity, in October 2021 stayed in a holiday home in southern Spain, which was provided free of charge by the Goldsmiths. Given Lord Goldsmith is a minister of the crown, the arrangement has accordingly been declared.”

No 10 has previously declined to answer questions about whether there could be a perceived conflict of interest, given that Johnson awarded Goldsmith a peerage after the latter lost his Richmond seat in 2019, and allowed him to keep his job as an environment minister.

After the holiday, the Guardian revealed that documents indicated that the luxurious Goldsmith family villa had been held by an opaque offshore structure based in multiple tax havens.

The papers suggested the minister and his family may have owned the property through a Maltese company held by companies in the Turks and Caicos Islands and administered by a wealth-planning firm based in Switzerland.

In a statement at the time, Goldsmith’s spokesperson said he had “followed the ministerial interests process set out in the ministerial code”. She added: “His interests have been reviewed by the Cabinet Office and the prime minister’s independent adviser on ministerial interests. Other relevant interests have correctly been reported in line with the House of Lords’ code of conduct.”

Johnson took the holiday during an unusual recess from parliament after party conference season, and No 10 had to defend his decision to go abroad during the energy and supply chain crisis.

At the time, No 10 refused to confirm that Goldsmith was covering the cost of the holiday in Marbella or say how the prime minister had travelled to Spain with his family.

As I said , “freebie” … :man_shrugging:

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@Omah Perhaps she’s having trouble getting her expenses out of Boris
Omah ??
How can you call Boris “tight” ??
He spends money like water !!
Donkeyman! :roll_eyes::roll_eyes:

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Its not his money he spends though…!

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@PixieKnuckles , Tongue in cheek pixie my dear !!
This tory party is benter than my back !!
Donkeyman! :-1::frowning::-1:

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Ahh, ok…understood @Donkeyman :joy:

Opposition parties have called for an inquiry into Boris Johnson’s free holiday at a Spanish villa owned by the family of minister Lord Zac Goldsmith.

The PM declared the trip on the Register of Ministers’ Interests, saying he had “a longstanding personal friendship” with the family.

But Labour and the Lib Dems say he should publish details on the Register of Members’ Interests covering all MPs.

The Register of Members’ Interests is a list of any financial benefits MPs get away from Parliament, such as wages from a second job or gifts, like a company paying for a trip abroad.

The idea behind it is to keep a check on any conflicts of interest and to ensure MPs do what they think is the best thing for the public, rather than for any external influencers.

The Register of Ministers’ Interests is similar but just covers government ministers, including the activities of close family members.

It can also cover non-financial interests, like if they are a member of an organisation away from Parliament.

But unlike the list for members, only the prime minister can dish out punishments for breaking the rules - for the wider group of MPs, they would face an investigation by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards.

The two opposition parties said the prime minister had broken the code of conduct for MPs - the same rules the government tried to rewrite on Wednesday, before performing a U-turn.

What a tangled web of deceit BJ weaves - Procrastination, Prevarication and Obfuscation are but three of the the strands … :roll_eyes: