Boris Johnson’s official country retreat Chequers is having repair work, with scaffolding visible outside the mansion.

New pictures show scaffolding covered in white sheeting outside the 16th century Buckinghamshire property.

The building work, described as “routine maintenance” by Downing Street, meant the Prime Minister chose to use the Foreign Secretary’s Chevening estate this week.

Chevening House in Chevening, Kent
Chevening House in Chevening, Kent

With Parliament in recess, Mr Johnson has been dividing his time between Chevening and 10 Downing Street.

Mr Johnson was criticised for remaining in Chevening rather than visiting flood-hit areas in the aftermath of Storm Dennis.

Number 10 said he had been receiving “regular updates” about the flooding.

Chequers was given to the nation by Sir Arthur Lee, the then MP for Fareham and director-general of food production, in 1917.

It is run and managed by an independent trust and is maintained by an endowment administered by the trustees.

The Trust also receives an annual grant-in-aid from public funds towards maintenance and staffing costs – £882,000 in 2018/19.