Boris Johnson stays at loan scandal pal’s ?4k-a-night Caribbean …
Boris Johnson and his family have holidayed at his tycoon cousin’s GBP4,100-a-night villa. The stay – their fourth vacation in 10 months – at the luxury Caribbean home of Sam Blyth was branded shameless as ordinary people battle to pay bills. Mr Blyth helped the ex-PM secure a loan in a saga which led to a probe into the appointment of BBC chief Richard Sharp.
Boris Johnson[1] enjoyed an Easter getaway[2] at a Caribbean villa owned by the multi-millionaire who helped him get an GBP800,000 loan. The ex-PM and his family stayed at a GBP4,100-a-night pad owned by tycoon Sam Blyth – a distant cousin who is at the heart of a probe into the appointment of BBC[3] chair Richard Sharp. Tonight – with a report into Mr Sharp due imminently – the break in the Dominican Republic intensified focus on Mr Johnson’s arrangements.
Disgraced Matt Hancock under investigation for ‘lobbying’ Parliament’s sleaze watchdog[4]
Boris Johnson during his Dominican Republic holiday (EL NUEVO DIARIO NEWSPAPER)
Mum Carrie pictured during the family holiday (EL NUEVO DIARIO NEWSPAPER)
It was his second trip there in seven months.
Lib Dem Chief Whip Wendy Chamberlain said: ” Boris Johnson[5] is utterly shameless. The constant stream of sleaze and scandal surrounding him is hindering public trust in politics. He doesn’t deserve to be an MP; the sooner he is out of Parliament, the better.”
Canadian businessman Mr Blyth offered to stand as guarantor for the then-PM’s loan in 2020, and Mr Sharp introduced him to Cabinet Secretary Simon Case as a part of that process. Months later, in January 2021, Mr Sharp was named BBC Chair, and a probe into the tangled saga was ordered this year. Mr Johnson headed off to the Caribbean on March 30 – at the start of the Easter holidays and just days after his disastrous grilling by a committee of MPs over Partygate.
He, wife Carrie and their children Wilfred – who is three this week – and 16-month-old Romy landed at La Romana airport. They took a seven-minute drive to the villa, which Mr Blyth usually rents out. It sits within Casa de Campo, a private gated community which has been a favourite haunt of superstars Rihanna[6], Jay-Z[7] and Beyonce[8], not to mention US Presidents including George W.
Bush and Bill Clinton.
Boris Johnson and Lord Bamford (PA)
Rapper Drake filmed the video for his hit Started from the Bottom within the walls of the luxury haven. During their stay the Johnsons are also understood to have flown by light aircraft to Samana, a tourist town in the north of the country. Local media reported they planned to dine at a new restaurant, walk along the bay, and watch humpback whales off the coast.
Pictures also show Mr Johnson strolling in capital city Santo Domingo and meeting the public – even offering a thumbs-up. Appearing to have a gashed shin, he is in sport shorts and ill-matching collared shirt, sleeves rolled up.
Carrie showing off her holiday dress (EL NUEVO DIARIO NEWSPAPER)
The former PM blends into the background (EL NUEVO DIARIO NEWSPAPER)
The Johnsons are understood to have flown from Gatwick, enjoying hospitality worth GBP1,584 in the Sussex Suite – a private VIP terminal – while waiting for their flight. The family went economy class, but in upgraded bulkhead seats with extra legroom.
Mr Johnson, 58, declared his free use of the departure suite, but did not declare any hospitality from Mr Blyth on his Commons register of interests. Neither did he declare his previous stay as a guest of Mr Blyth last October, saying he did not need to because it was a personal matter. Mrs Johnson, 35, is understood to have previously stayed at Mr Blyth’s villa alone in early 2022.
Boris Johnson on the plane at Gatwick Airport (EL NUEVO DIARIO NEWSPAPER)
The property is owned by tycoon Sam Blyth
A spokesman for Mr Johnson said: “We don’t comment on travel.
All of Boris Johnson’s interests are properly registered and declared.” Carrie Johnson posted this Instagram[9] picture during the hol – in a GBP615 Apple Smock dress designed by pal Lady Carole Bamford’s company. She tagged her friend and called the frock “the perfect holiday throw-on dress”.
Since Mr Johnson left office, he and his family have been staying rent-free in a Cotswolds cottage and a GBP20million townhouse in Knightsbridge – both owned by Lady Bamford – at an estimated value of GBP13,500 a month. Official declarations show the Johnsons also accepted nearly GBP24,000-worth of wedding party funding from Lady Bamford and her husband, JCB digger tycoon Lord Anthony Bamford. It came after the then-PM had to cancel plans to hold it at Chequers in the face of a huge public backlash.
The Bamfords and their businesses have donated more than GBP14million in cash and gifts to the Tories. When he left No10, Mr Johnson spoke of giving up “the best job in the world”, then adding: “But them’s the breaks.” Despite trousering more than GBP5million for speaking engagements after quitting, Mr Johnson has accepted free access to VIP suites at Gatwick and Heathrow 27 times since last August, with a combined value of GBP47,736. The row over BBC chair Mr Sharp blew up in January, when his link to Mr Johnson’s loan emerged.
He denied any further involvement, saying: “There is not a conflict when I simply connected, at his request, Mr Blyth with the Cabinet Secretary and had no further involvement whatsoever.” It was also reported that Mr Blyth, 68, had been in the running to be next CEO of public body the British Council at the time the loan was discussed. But Mr Blyth said: “Nothing was asked for or given by the PM for this.
And he knew nothing about the British Council role until I informed him that I had declined to be a candidate.”
A spokesman for Mr Johnson said previously: “Boris Johnson did not in any way assist with, and was unaware of any application by Sam Blyth – formal or informal – to serve in any position whatever with the British Council, and neither was anybody in No 10 who was acting on his behalf.
“As far as he is aware no one in No10 either knew about this alleged application or did anything to advance it.”