Boris Johnson’s Downing Street decorator addresses ‘missed opportunity’

Published

2 years ago

September 29, 2023

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The designer who refurbished Boris Johnson’s Downing Street flat has spoken out about the “missed opportunity” to promote British craftwork after being caught up in ‘Partygate’ and the scandal around how the work was funded.

Lulu Lytle, founder of design and manufacturing firm Soane Britain, has also said in an interview that the reported £840-per-roll cost of gold leaf wallpaper is not accurate, insisting it was nowhere near that expensive – and nor was it made of gold leaf.

She has said the now infamous wallpaper for the flat above Number 11 Downing Street housing then-prime minister Boris Johnson and his then fiance Carrie Symonds cost £120 per roll – the industry standard – and it was yellow, not gold.

Ms Lytle – who became known as “Carrie’s interior designer” – said she had never met Mr Johnson or his fiance before she received a cold call from Ms Symonds one day asking her to oversee the refurbishment of the Downing Street residence, commissioned in early 2020 and funded by the official grant of £30,000 given to all prime ministers to revamp their living space.

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“Carrie had seen some fabrics of ours that had been commissioned for the state bedrooms at Chequers and liked them very much,” Ms Lytle told the Wall Street Journal of the prime minister’s official country residence in Buckinghamshire.

“She asked me to help with their Downing Street flat, not only because she liked the Soane aesthetic, but because our supply chains are so transparently English.”

When the bill for the requested work overshot the official grant, Ms Lytle said she was assured a trust would make up the gap, as had been the case for Chequers.

“I was totally reassured it was being set up, but it was taking time,” she said, but a year later it emerged in press reports that not only had the refurbishment cost over six times the official allowance but it had also been funded by Tory party donor Lord David Brownlow.

The scandal erupted at the same time as it emerged parties had been taking place in Downing Street – and Ms Lytle herself was even investigated for allegedly attending Mr Johnson’s birthday party in Downing Street, for which the ex-PM was later fined.

However, after speaking to investigating officers, she was not fined, having been in Downing Street for work.

As for Mr Johnson, although he was referred to the Electoral Commission over the saga of the redecoration and the Tory party was fined, his ethics advisor, Lord Christopher Geidt, concluded that he did not break the ministerial code, and he settled the bill for the work privately.

Nonetheless, she recounted the ordeal as having a very difficult impact on herself, her family, and her business.

She says that what upset her the most was the “missed opportunity” to highlight British craftwork.

“Downing Street could, and in my opinion should, be the most fantastic showcase for British makers – I hoped and believed it would provide a springboard for conversations about UK manufacturing, or honest and transparent supply chains,” she said.

“It was such a missed opportunity,” she added.

Ms Lytle is now launching a flagship outlet on New York’s Upper East Side, expanding properly into the US for the first time.

Politics

‘Deport now, appeal later’ scheme for foreign criminals expanded to 23 countries

Published

10 hours ago

August 11, 2025

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'Deport now, appeal later' scheme for foreign criminals expanded to 23 countries

A hostile environment era deportation policy for criminals is being expanded by the Labour government as it continues its migration crackdown.

The government wants to go further in extraditing foreign offenders before they have a chance to appeal by including more countries in the existing scheme.

Offenders that have a human right appeal rejected will get offshored, and further appeals will then get heard from abroad.

It follows the government announcing on Saturday that it wants to deport criminals as soon as they are sentenced.

The “deport now, appeal later” policy was first introduced when Baroness Theresa May was home secretary in 2014 as part of the Conservative government’s hostile environment policy to try and reduce migration.

It saw hundreds of people returned to a handful of countries like Kenya and Jamaica under Section 94B of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, added in via amendment.

In 2017, a Supreme Court effectively stopped the policy from being used after it was challenged on the grounds that appealing from abroad was not compliant with human rights.

However, in 2023, then home secretary Suella Braverman announced she was restarting the policy after providing more facilities abroad for people to lodge their appeals.

Now, the current government says it is expanding the partnership from eight countries to 23.

Previously, offenders were being returned to Finland, Nigeria, Estonia, Albania, Belize, Mauritius, Tanzania and Kosovo for remote hearings.

Angola, Australia, Botswana, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Guyana, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Latvia, Lebanon, Malaysia, Uganda and Zambia are the countries being added – with the government wanting to include more.

The Home Office claims this is the “the government’s latest tool in its comprehensive approach to scaling up our ability to remove foreign criminals”, touting 5,200 removals of foreign offenders since July 2024 – an increase of 14% compared with the year before.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “Those who commit crimes in our country cannot be allowed to manipulate the system, which is why we are restoring control and sending a clear message that our laws must be respected and will be enforced.”

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: “We are leading diplomatic efforts to increase the number of countries where foreign criminals can be swiftly returned, and if they want to appeal, they can do so safely from their home country.

“Under this scheme, we’re investing in international partnerships that uphold our security and make our streets safer.”

Both ministers opposed the hostile environment policy when in opposition.

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In 2015, Sir Keir Starmer had questioned whether such a policy was workable – saying in-person appeals were the norm for 200 years and had been a “highly effective way of resolving differences”.

He also raised concerns about the impact on children if parents were deported and then returned after a successful appeal.

In today’s announcement, the prime minister’s administration said it wanted to prevent people from “gaming the system” and clamp down on people staying in the UK for “months or years” while appeals are heard.

Politics

Crypto debanking is ‘still occurring’ as banks stick to Chokepoint policies

Published

1 day ago

August 10, 2025

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Crypto debanking is ‘still occurring’ as banks stick to Chokepoint policies

Despite Trump’s pro-crypto stance, Unicoin CEO says US banks continue closing accounts for crypto firms under “Operation Chokepoint.”

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Embargo ransomware group moved $34M in crypto since April: TRM Labs

Published

1 day ago

August 10, 2025

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Embargo ransomware group moved M in crypto since April: TRM Labs

TRM Labs says the Embargo ransomware group has moved over $34 million in ransom-linked crypto since April, targeting US hospitals and critical infrastructure.