‘Something for *almost* everyone’: John Lewis mocks Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds as PM faces probe into funding for Downing Street flat refurb after getting rid of department store’s ‘nightmare’ furniture
- John Lewis appeared to mock Boris Johnson and his fiancee Carrie Symonds
- The refurb of Downing Street flat was to remove ‘John Lewis furniture nightmare’
- Retailer ‘poked fun’ at couple by saying it had something for ‘almost’ everyone
John Lewis appeared to mock Boris Johnson and his fiancée Carrie Symonds as the Prime Minister faces a probe into the controversial refurbishment of their Downing Street flat.
The couple’s lavish update of the decor was reportedly inspired by a desire to get rid of the ‘John Lewis furniture nightmare’ left over by Theresa May.
The description of the flat – attributed to a visitor – was included in a recent Tatler article on Ms Symonds.
But the department store was quick to poke fun at the apparent revelation as it took to Twitter to suggest it had something for ‘almost’ everyone.
It comes after the Electoral Commission launched an investigation into how the new look was funded.
John Lewis appeared to mock Boris Johnson and his fiancee Carrie Symonds as the Prime Minister faces a probe into the controversial refurbishment of their Downing Street flat
The couple’s lavish update of the decor was reportedly inspired by a desire to get rid of the ‘John Lewis furniture nightmare’ and the department store was quick to poke fun at the apparent revelation
John Lewis today shared a photo of one of their delivery lorries park outside Downing Street with the caption: ‘Good thing we have a recycling service for old pre-loved furniture’
John Lewis took to social media with a post that read: ‘Time for an interiors refresh? We pride our Home Design Service on having something for *almost* everyone.’
Just hours before it said: ‘Phew, the John Lewis social team have just finished an all day brainstorming session to find ways for people to talk about us on Twitter… Have we missed anything?’
The company has also shared a photo of one of their delivery lorries park outside Downing Street with the caption: ‘Good thing we have a recycling service for old pre-loved furniture’.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesman said ‘unlike the Prime Minister he doesn’t turn his nose up to John Lewis thinking it’s too downmarket’ and ‘wouldn’t spend £840 per roll on wallpaper’.
It comes after the Electoral Commission said there were ‘reasonable grounds to suspect that an offence or offences may have occurred’ during the financing of the revamp of the Prime Minister’s flat above No 11.
The taxpayer funds a £30,000 annual allowance, but the redecoration – reportedly involving the company Soane, co-founded by designer Lulu Lytle (designs pictured) – stretched beyond that
Just hours before it said: ‘Phew, the John Lewis social team have just finished an all day brainstorming session to find ways for people to talk about us on Twitter… Have we missed anything?’
Even @johnlewis, a US academic who shares his name with the retailer, has said he has received ‘hundreds’ of messages regarding the Downing St flat. He said he was ‘kinda hurt’ that the store’s furnishings had reportedly been referred to as a ‘nightmare’
Mr Johnson and Ms Symonds’ lavish update of the decor was reportedly inspired by a desire to get rid of the ‘John Lewis furniture nightmare’ left over by Theresa May
The taxpayer funds a £30,000 annual allowance, but the redecoration – reportedly involving the company Soane, co-founded by designer Lulu Lytle – stretched beyond that.
Some reports suggest the upgrades hit the £200,000 mark, while a leaked email suggested Tory peer Lord Brownlow 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’s former adviser Dominic Cummings said he told Mr Johnson ‘his plans to have donors secretly pay for the renovation were unethical, foolish, possibly illegal’.
The Prime Minister today insisted he ‘paid for the refurbishment myself’ and said that he had abided by the ministerial code.
Man named John Lewis who is trolled for department store’s Christmas adverts weighs in on Downing St flat’s ‘nightmare’ furniture
US academic John Lewis who shares his name with the British department store has said he has been inundated with hundreds of messages over the controversy around Boris Johnson’s upgrade to the Downing St flat.
The 58-year-old, whose Twitter handle is @johnlewis, is routinely mistaken for the retailer when they release their Christmas Advert.
But now he has been dragged into the debate over claims the Prime Minister called the John Lewis furnishings in his No10 flat left behind by Theresa May a ‘nightmare’.
Responding to a Twitter user asking if the refurbishment had been brought to the attention of Virginia-based educator, Mr Lewis replied: ‘Why, yes, now that you mention it, I do remember a few hundred tweets about it.’
Initially not drawn on his opinion of the debacle, Mr Lewis later added: ‘In his defense, my couch has seen better days. But “interiors nightmare” kinda hurt.’
Mr Lewis, who writes university and school text books on computer science, had heard of his namesake store following visits to the UK.
He admits he has lost count of the number of tweets he has received about the hugely popular animated promotion.
Previously he has said he tries to reply to ‘almost all’ of them – often with an injection of wit – but his family find it ‘amusing’ that he spends so much time responding.
