Debt collectors knocking on Number 10

A county court debt judgment issued against Boris Johnson is “totally without merit” and the prime minister will apply to have it struck out, Downing Street has said, with officials believing the process could have been started maliciously.

The statement came after the official register of county court judgments for England and Wales showed that Johnson had a judgment against him in October last year over an unpaid debt of £535. The register does not give details of to whom the debt is owed.

Such a judgment would place the prime minister at risk of not only a bad credit rating but potential enforcement action by bailiffs arriving at Downing Street.