The PM got a slap on the wrist from Lord Geidt for the Downing St. flat debacle – 12 weary responses

Lord Geidt, the independent adviser appointed to investigate allegations that Boris Johnson broke the Ministerial Code in allowing someone else to pay for refurbishing his Downing Street flat, has concluded that *checks notes* he didn’t.

PM cleared of breaking min code by over flat pyaments by Lord Geidt. But Geidt/PM exchanges painful reading
– Geidt excoriating. Episode exposed 'deficiency in standards' & 'shook his confidence'. It was 'plainly unsatisfactory' that he hadn't had earlier disclosure 1/

— Beth Rigby (@BethRigby) January 6, 2022

Despite learning that the PM had failed to inform the inquiry that he had messaged Tory donor Lord Brownlow asking him to arrange the payments to the designer, Geidt merely described the omission as “plainly unsatisfactory”.

Boris Johnson’s full text to a Tory donor asking for more £££ to refurbish his private flat

Boris Johnson again cleared by Lord Geidt because there is no evidence the PM knew the proposed Lord Brownlow-chaired trust was funded by Lord Brownlow himself pic.twitter.com/F1lIW2CHIQ

— Sam Coates Sky (@SamCoatesSky) January 6, 2022

The peer appears to have accepted the PM’s excuse that he didn’t have access to the messages because he had changed his phone.

🚨 Scoop: Boris Johnson has told Lord Geidt he did not reveal WhatsApp messages about the Downing Street flat refurb loan due to a new phone:

"The PM has told Geidt that he did not see the WhatsApp messages because he changed his phone number"https://t.co/2Sic1dHwTi

— Sebastian Payne (@SebastianEPayne) January 6, 2022

Lord Geidt might have swallowed it, but he was in the minority.

1.

Lord Geidt has fully accepted that a big boy breached the Ministerial Code and ran away.

— Parody Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson_MP) January 6, 2022

2.

Worth remembering what this is all about.
Johnson assured Lord Geidt that he did not know who had given money for the work until it was revealed by the media in February 2021. In fact he had asked Brownlow for money in 2020. Changing phones is irrelevant. https://t.co/VQ1q9C5LW8

— Jessica Simor QC (@JMPSimor) January 6, 2022

3.

If anyone has Lord Geidt's number, can they pass it on? I have a bridge to sell him. https://t.co/CUuOC5DNP4

— Robert Hutton (@RobDotHutton) January 6, 2022

4.

Reassuring to know that our PM can be bought with the cost of a flat refurb

— Marina Purkiss (@MarinaPurkiss) January 6, 2022

5.

Lord Geidt: "I find that in wiping out half the population of the planet Thanos acted unwisely but did not break the ministerial code" #GeidtJudgements

— David Schneider (@davidschneider) January 6, 2022

6.

Convenient that a man appointed by @BorisJohnson clears @BorisJohnson of lying by accepting ridiculous excuse that PM "did not recall" asking to borrow huge sum from Tory peer for flat re-decoration https://t.co/oUqRbRN2Qe

— Caroline Lucas (@CarolineLucas) January 6, 2022

7.

Lord Geidt: "I need you to disclose the key flat refurbishment messages."

Boris Johnson: "New phone, who dis?"https://t.co/3xIt5WbuuW

— Fleur Anderson MP (@PutneyFleur) January 6, 2022

8.

Boris Johnson has also successfully sold Lord Geidt a very expensive Jpeg of an ape. https://t.co/VMVD0egmDn

— Stephen Bush (@stephenkb) January 6, 2022

9.

Plus the dog ate his homework, he was washing his hair and he wasn’t even in when it happened… It doesn’t matter whether Lord Geidt and other establishment figures choose to believe him; it matters whether you do. https://t.co/dGJ4c8HSh4

— Larry the Cat (@Number10cat) January 6, 2022

10.

I see the man who called his £250k column for The Telegraph 'chicken feed' now calls his free flat 'a tip'

— Toby Earle (@TobyonTV) January 6, 2022

11.

starting to wonder if those technology lessons were any good https://t.co/T7DiPoE6PL

— Jim Pickard (@PickardJE) January 6, 2022

12.

How the fuck have we ended up with a PM who can't afford to pay to decorate his own flat ?#embarrassing

— Con O'Neill (@cononeilluk) January 6, 2022

IT incompetency and memory problems aside, Boris Johnson’s case was always built on sand.

Love the idea that Boris Johnson's defence relies on us believing that Theresa May would leave a flat in such a mess that he, Boris Johnson, would be unable to live in it.

— Robert Hutton (@RobDotHutton) January 6, 2022

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The verdict on whether Boris Johnson broke the ministerial code will be decided by …Boris Johnson

Source Beth Rigby Image Screengrab