BORIS Johnson reportedly scrapped plans for White House-style media conferences over fears he would have to answer "hostile press questions".

It was revealed last night that Downing Street will not go ahead with the plan despite more than £2.6 million having already been spent on the venue.

The room in No 9 Downing Street has been kitted out with cameras and rows of chairs for journalists, and the Prime Minister’s press secretary Allegra Stratton was due to field questions from political correspondents.

But it is understood Boris Johnson has axed plans for daily televised media briefings and the studio will be used for ministerial press conferences, as first reported by The Times.

According to The Spectator, there were worries in government that the briefings could backfire on the Prime Minister, with the type of questions from the media at the ministerial Covid press conferences pointing to the potential problems with the format.

The right-leaning magazine also said lobby briefings on uncomfortable topics such as Jennifer Acuri’s involvement with Johnson showed him how the briefings could "move from a tool for transparency to a vehicle to hurt the government".

During last night's Covid breifing Johnson was was asked if he had acted with “honesty and integrity” in line with the code of conduct for people in public life, following reports about his relationship with Jennifer Arcuri.

The American busiesswoman made fresh allegations last month that she and the Tory leader had a four-year romantic relationship when he was London mayor, in an interview with the Sunday Mirror.

READ MORE: Boris Johnson put on the spot over Jennifer Arcuri scandal in No 10 briefing

HuffPost’s Paul Waugh asked Johnson about his relationship with Arcuri.

“On Greensill and lobbying, it’s sparked a lot of interest in whether the Nolan principles of public life have any teeth or relevance any more,” the journalist said.

“Do you agree with the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which in its review of your links with Jennifer Arcuri concluded, and I quote, ‘it would have been wise for Mr Johnson to have declared this as a conflict of interest and a failure to do so could have constituted a breach of the Nolan principles’?

“Those principles include acting with honesty and integrity. Do you believe you acted with honesty and integrity in your relationship with Ms Arcuri, who claims you conducted your affair in your marital home?”

After answering a previous question on the expansion of Heathrow, the Prime Minister attempted to nip the follow-up question in the bud.

He replied: “My answer to your second question is yes.”

 

 

The Prime Minister has appointed Stratton as spokeswoman for the United Nations Cop26 summit, which is due to take place in Glasgow in November.

It was revealed last month that the media room had cost £2.6m to install, with the hi-tech refurbishment branded a “vanity project” by Labour.

The room had its first use in March when the Prime Minister addressed the nation about the next stage of lockdown easing, with previous coronavirus briefings held in No 10.

Responding to the plans being scrapped, Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner said: “Boris Johnson is clearly running scared of scrutiny and questions about Tory sleaze and dodgy lobbying.

“Instead of wasting millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money on a pointless vanity project the Prime Minister should have used the money to give our NHS heroes a pay rise.”

The National:

A freedom of information (FoI) request revealed that the overhaul of No 9 had cost £2,607,767.67, largely excluding VAT.

Costs detailed in the FoI response included £1,848,695.12 for the “main works”, £198,023.75 on “long lead items”, and £33,394.63 on broadband equipment.

The launch of the televised briefings had been anticipated as early as the autumn, but in January No 10 said they were being delayed as ministers planned to hold regular press conferences during the lockdown.

The plans for the room faced significant backlash when they were revealed last month.

Ian Blackford, the SNP's Westminster leader, said: "Boris Johnson is wasting £millions of public money on ugly Tory vanity projects and a luxury refurbishment of his apartment - while imposing a public sector pay freeze and tax rises for millions of workers.

"Yet again, it's one rule for the Tories and another for the rest of us."

READ MORE: Backlash as photos of No 10's £2.6m briefing room with Union Jack backdrop revealed

The SNP's Westminster Deputy Leader Kirsten Oswald MP said: "It beggars belief that Boris Johnson is wasting millions of pounds of public money on ugly Tory vanity projects, and a luxury refurbishment of his apartment, at the same time as imposing a public sector pay freeze, cuts to Universal Credit and tax rises for millions of workers.

"The Westminster system is broken beyond repair. Yet again, the Tories are revealing themselves to be arrogant and completely out of touch by lavishing taxpayers’ cash on themselves while imposing austerity cuts on the rest of us.

"With both votes SNP at the election on 6th May, we can prioritise action to build a fairer society and put Scotland's future in Scotland's hands - not Boris Johnson's."

Shadow chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Rachel Reeves said “serious questions” were being raised about who is getting “rushed-through” Government contracts.

“And that’s before we even get to why our nurses are getting a pay cut while the Government spends millions on a media briefing room,” the Labour MP added.

“Given how much money Boris Johnson has thrown at his latest vanity project, we were expecting something a bit more impressive.

“The fact the Government seems to have simply brushed this off with no further transparency or assurances on how they’re spending British taxpayer money is deeply concerning.”

The televised briefings are believed to have been suggested by the Prime Minister’s former director of communications Lee Cain, who left No10 in December alongside his Vote Leave ally Dominic Cummings.

But he reportedly disagreed with the Prime Minister’s choice of Stratton as press secretary to lead the briefings as a Government spokeswoman.

An advert said the salary for the press secretary role would be based on experience, but reports suggested the taxpayer-funded post would pay around £100,000 a year.