Them's the Easter breaks

EX PM ON HOL AT VILLA OWNED BY TYCOON PAL

- MIKEY SMITH

BORIS Johnson enjoyed an Easter getaway at a Caribbean villa owned by the multi-millionaire who helped him get an £800,000 loan.

The ex-PM and his family stayed at a £4,100-a-night pad owned by tycoon Sam Blyth - a distant cousin who is at the heart of a probe into the appointment of BBC chair Richard Sharp.

Last night with a report into Mr Sharp due imminently the break in the Dominican Republic intensified focus on Mr Johnson's arrangements.

It was his second trip there in seven months. Lib Dem Chief Whip Wendy Chamberlain said: "Boris Johnson is utterly shameless. The constant stream of sleaze and scandal surrounding him is hindering public trust in politics. He doesn't deserve to be an MP; the sooner he is out of Parliament, the better." 

Canadian businessman Mr Blyth offered to stand as guarantor for the then-PM's loan in 2020, and Mr Sharp introduced him to Cabinet Secretary Simon Case as a part of that process.

Months later, in January 2021, Mr Sharp was named BBC Chair, and a probe into the tangled saga was ordered this year.

Mr Johnson headed off to the Caribbean on March 30 - at the start of the Easter holidays and just days after his disastrous grilling by a committee of MPs over Partygate. He, wife Carrie and their children Wilfred - who is three this week and 16-month-old Romy landed at La Romana airport. They took a seven-minute drive to the villa, which Mr Blyth usually rents out.