Boris Johnson no longer has county court debt of £535, after No 10 gets alleged defamation claim set aside

Boris Johnson no longer has a county court judgement against him after Downing Street got a claim for a £535 debt for alleged defamation set aside.

No 10 said the claim against the Prime Minister had been “totally without merit” and “vexatious” and lodged an application to have it struck out.

A court official confirmed there was no longer a county court judgement present in the case after applications were considered by District Judge Hammond but was unable to provide further details.

Official records had showed an “unsatisfied record” for the unpaid debt was registered to Mr Johnson at “10 Downing Street”, with the judgement dated 26 October 26 year.

An additional file showed the claim was made by someone called Yvonne Hobbs against “The Rt Hon Boris Johnson”. The reasons cited for the claim were “defamation” and “committed repeated defamation”.

On Thursday (13 May), the Prime Minister’s official spokesperson told a Westminster briefing: “We are moving at speed to get this removed.

“Courts do have the power to strike down vexatious claims as an abuse of the court, and they do issue various orders restricting litigants’ ability to continue with further claims," they added.

The judgement, first reported by Private Eye magazine, raised eyebrows as it was dated during a key period concerning questions over the Prime Minister’s controversial refurbishment of his flat in No 11.

But No 10 said it was “nothing to do with the refurbishment of the Downing Street estate”.

The Prime Minister has faced numerous questions about his finances as the Electoral Commission investigates whether any donation was properly declared.

Mr Johnson has denied any wrongdoing and insisted he personally paid for the lavish refurbishments, but has declined to say whether he received an initial loan.

Scrutiny intensified when former aide Dominic Cummings accused Mr Johnson of wanting donors to “secretly pay” for the renovations to the apartment in a “possibly illegal” move.

Tory peer Lord Brownlow said in an email leaked to the Daily Mail and dated October 14 that he was making a £58,000 donation to the Conservatives “to cover the payments the party has already made on behalf of the soon-to-be-formed ‘Downing Street Trust’”.

Mr Johnson is also under investigation by the Commons “sleaze” watchdog over his controversial new year break in the private island of Mustique.

The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards Kathryn Stone is probing whether he properly declared the £15,000 stay on the luxury Caribbean hideaway.

Additional reporting by PA.

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