Labour call for inquiry over Boris Johnson's Spanish holiday

Labour is calling for an inquiry into Boris Johnson's free holiday at a Spanish villa owned by the family of government minister Lord Zac Goldsmith.

The PM declared the trip on the Register of Ministers' Interests, saying he had "a longstanding personal friendship" with the family.

No 10 insisted Mr Johnson had abided by all relevant transparency rules.

"Given the hospitality was provided by another minister [Lord Goldsmith] it's right that the PM made this declaration in his ministerial capacity to ensure sufficient transparency," said a spokesman.

They also said Mr Johnson did not need to declare it on the list of MPs; interests as "ministerial code declarations fall outside the remit of the House of Commons registrar and Parliamentary Standards Commissioner".

The party's deputy leader, Angela Rayner, has written to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, Kathryn Stone, saying the public would draw the conclusion the PM was "dishing out cushy jobs to his friends who pay for his luxury holidays".

Mr Johnson took the trip in October with his wife, Carrie, and their son to southern Spain and stayed in a villa owned by Lord Goldsmith's family for free.

The peer is close friend of the prime minister's wife and gave her her first job in politics.

He lost his seat as an MP for Richmond Park in 2019, but retained his job as an environment minister after Mr Johnson appointed him to the House of Lords.

The government is supposed to publish a list of any financial benefits received by ministers twice a year.

The most recent list includes the declaration that: "The prime minister has a longstanding personal friendship with the Goldsmith family and, in that capacity, in October 2021, stayed in a holiday home in southern Spain which was provided free of charge by the Goldsmiths.

"Given Lord Goldsmith is a minister of the crown, the arrangement has accordingly been declared."

But Labour says he should also publish the details in the MPs' register that would likely show the cost of the accommodation.

It is not the first time the PM has come under scrutiny for free holidays.

He was been criticised over how slow he was to explain the funding of his trip to the Caribbean island of Mustique shortly after winning the 2019 election.

In her letter to the Commissioner, Labour's Ms Rayner claimed the PM had "a long history of breaching the rules in relation to parliamentary standards and other integrity and anti-corruption measures".

She also pointed to the ruling over the Mustique trip, which said he was "required under the House's rules to register the holiday accommodation he received".

Ms Rayner added: "We cannot have a situation where Boris Johnson behaves like it's one rule for him and another for everyone else.

"I would be grateful for your guidance on whether this is a breach of the rules, and whether you will investigate the Member of Parliament for Uxbridge and South Ruislip."

Mr Johnson's spokesman said the trip was "a family holiday at the home of longstanding family friends and is unconnected with a PM's parliamentary and political activities".

He added: "The PM has written to the House of Commons registrar to set out that this holiday has been declared under the ministerial code, because the arrangement is with another minister."