LONDON – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is applying to strike out a court judgment for unpaid debt, Downing Street said, after reports that a Covid-19 “conspiracy theorist” had alleged defamation.
Johnson has yet to settle the debt of £535 (RM3,103) following a ruling on October 26 last year, according to an online database of civil county court judgments.
“An application will be made for an order to set aside the default judgment, to strike out the claim and for a declaration that the claim is totally without merit,” a Downing Street spokeswoman said late Wednesday.
Johnson is named as the debtor and his address is listed as 10 Downing Street – the home of prime ministers since 1735 and one of the country’s best-known residences.
A “default judgment” is applied when the respondent fails to reply, and the Daily Mail said the application neither gave Johnson’s full name nor his correct address next door.
The newspaper and the Evening Standard reported the claim was brought by a member of the public, who said in her application to an online claims court that Johnson owed her £535 for “repeated defamation”.
However, claims for defamation would be heard by higher courts, and the Daily Mail said the claimant “is a Covid-19 conspiracy theorist who has launched multiple claims against Mr Johnson and public institutions”.
Johnson’s finances have been increasingly in the spotlight in recent weeks, in part over the reportedly lavish makeover of his Downing Street flat.
Asked if Johnson had any other unpaid debts, his press secretary told reporters that they “should not be concerned, no.” – AFP, May 13, 2021
