Johnson enjoyed 800,000 line of credit while in No 10

The former PM also made use of a villa in the Dominican Republic owned by distant cousin Sam Blyth PA)

- ADAM FORREST

Boris Johnson is said to have secured a 800,000 line of credit while prime minister, backed by a millionaire relative who wanted to run a quango. Canadian businessman Sam Blyth agreed to guarantee the huge credit facility for his distant cousin in December 2020 before it was taken out in February 2021, a newspaper report claims.

Mr Blyth was considered between late 2020 and early 2021 when the guarantor arrangements were being put into place for a position as chief executive of the British Council, a nondepartmental public body, it has been reported. A source said Mr Johnson had been close to going broke”, and the line of credit was said to have been made available for his living costs, including divorce payments.

The Cabinet Office’s propriety and ethics team approved the arrangement in December 2020 after Mr Johnson asked for the advice of cabinet secretary Simon Case, it was also reported.

The latest revelations come after The Independent revealed a bitter split among warring Conservatives over whether Mr Johnson should be restored as leader of the party given his history of scandals. It was just a few months after the credit arrangement was made that a row broke out about the lavish refurbishment of the flat above No 11 Downing Street by Mr Johnson and his partner.