Boris Johnson registers £24k gift from Tory donor for wedding party

The donation from JCB chairman Lord Bamford and his wife covered items including flowers, a South African barbecue and an ice cream van.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his wife Carrie held a post-wedding party in a luxury estate in the Cotswolds (Stefan Rousseau/PA) (PA Wire)

Boris Johnson has registered a near £24,000 donation covering aspects of his wedding party including flowers, a South African barbecue and an ice cream van.

Records published on Thursday showed Lord Anthony and Lady Carole Bamford stumped up the cash to also cover marquee hire, portaloos, catering and waiting staff.

Former prime minister Boris Johnson with JCB chairman Lord Bamford (Stefan Rousseau/PA) (PA Archive)

Lord Bamford, a major Tory donor and the chairman of the construction equipment manufacturer JCB, hosted the party for the then prime minister and wife Carrie on July 30.

The Johnsons were joined by family and friends at the 18th-century Daylesford House in the Cotswolds to celebrate after the coronavirus pandemic forced them to scale back their wedding day.

The £23,853 donation detailed in the latest register of MPs’ financial interests showed the party included a braai, a type of South African barbecue.

Mr Johnson has repeatedly benefited from Lord Bamford’s donations, with the billionaire Tory peer supporting the MP’s 2019 bid to become Conservative leader.

The ex-PM would make visits to JCB plants in front of the media’s gaze, including to a factory in India and a Staffordshire plant where he used a digger to knock down a wall in a stunt to demonstrate he could “get Brexit done”.

Lord Bamford’s wife, Lady Carole Bamford, established the upmarket Daylesford Organic Farm, with a chain of shops selling its produce across London.