Boris Johnson's office records £1 million donation from Tory donor who helped bankroll Brexit Party

Boris Johnson has received £1 million from a Tory donor to help him carry out his work as a former prime minister.

Mr Johnson, who was forced from office last summer, recorded a donation of £1 million from Christopher Harborne to the Office of Boris Johnson Ltd in the latest update to the MPs’ Register of Interests.

Mr Harborne was among the donors who helped bankroll the Brexit Party and has also donated to the Conservatives.

The private limited company established by the ex-PM does not carry out commercial business and solely functions as a private office to support him as a former prime minister, PA reports.

According to the parliamentary declarations, Mr Johnson has been continuing to live at a property linked to wealthy Tory donor Lord Bamford.

He declared the “use of accommodation for me and my family from December 2022 to January 2023 at an estimated value of £10,000”, provided by Lord Anthony and Lady Carole Bamford.

Since leaving office last September, Mr Johnson has declared more than £1 million in speaking fees.

In December, he recorded around £300,000 for two separate speeches.

It follows ITV News revealing that the former prime minister joked to Downing Street staff “this is the most unsocially distanced party in the UK right now”, during a boozy Number 10 leaving do.

The claim aired on the explosive new podcast Partygate: The Inside Story, which brings into fresh doubt Mr Johnson’s long-held position that he was unaware rules had been broken within Number 10 during the pandemic lockdown.

It was one of the biggest news stories of our time - and it's still not over. So what did Boris Johnson know about Downing Street’s notorious parties? With fresh revelations from our Number 10 sources, in their own words, listen to the inside story...