Rishi Sunak will move to No 10 on Saturday, the Prime Minister’s press secretary confirmed after removal vans were seen in Downing Street.
Six months after moving out, Sunak and his family are back in the flat above number 10, where they lived when he was chancellor in Boris Johnson’s government.
Vans from removals, storage and delivery company Bishop’s Move were seen carrying belongings to Downing Street on Saturday, with staff pictured carrying a mattress through the famous black door.
Earlier this week, Mr Sunak’s press secretary told reporters: “They will be moving to the 10th floor, where they used to live.”
Asked why No 10 and not the larger No 11 apartment, normally used by the Prime Minister of the Treasury but favored by Mr Johnson during his prime ministership, he said: “They were very happy there.”
In April, before Sunak dramatically resigned as chancellor, which precipitated Johnson’s downfall, his wife and two daughters moved to their mews house in west London to be more near the children’s school.
As news emerged that Mr Sunak’s wife, Akshata Murty, had claimed “non-Sunday” tax status, saving herself millions, there was speculation that the move was linked to a desire to avoid media attention, although Sunak denied it. that at the time
Sunak divided his time between the official residence and the family home in his final months as chancellor.
His return to the flat will come without the novelty factor that usually accompanies the move of a new prime minister’s family.
Asked if they would redecorate, Mr Sunak’s press secretary said: “I don’t know.”
Mr Johnson’s lavish renovation of flat number 11 cost more than £200,000, far exceeding the £30,000 annual government grant the Prime Minister is given to spend on housing there.
Sunak, arguably the richest prime minister in history with a fortune far greater than the king’s, will be able to choose from a wide variety of properties to spend his weekends with his family, including the prime minister’s retreat Chequers, the Downing Street flat, the home of the Kensington family and the home of his constituency in North Yorkshire.
