Boris Johnson has been issued with a court judgement over an unpaid debt of £535, it has been revealed.
Listings of county court judgements for last October include a finding against “Boris Johnson, 10 Downing Street”.
The record, uncovered by Private Eye magazine and seen by The Independent, showed that the debt is still “unsatisfied” more than six months later.
No details of the nature of the unpaid debt or the identity of the creditor were revealed.
But it is normally the case that wrangles over unpaid debts do not reach the county court until considerable effort has been made to secure payment.
The debt was incurred on 26 October, around the time that news surfaced of Mr Johnson’s problems funding the refurbishment of his 11 Downing Street flat, at an estimated cost of £200,000.
The issuing of a county court judgement (CCJ) allows a creditor to commission bailiffs to obtain payment.
Official guidance warns that CCJs will kept on file for six years unless the full amount is paid within a month, and that it may be hard to obtain credit during this period.
People with judgements against them can be taken back to court and forced to pay the money.
(County courts of England and Wales)
“Banks and loan companies use this information to decide whether to give you credit or loans,” states the official guidance.
“If you pay the full amount within one month, you can get the judgment removed from the register.
“If you pay after one month, you can get the record of the judgment marked as ‘satisfied’ in the register.
It will stay on the register for six years but people searching the register will see that you’ve paid.”
There was no immediate response from No 10 to news of the PM’s debt.
