Government accused of dragging its heels on 'long overdue' changes to sleaze watchdog role

• Boris Johnson pledged to give greater powers to his sleaze advisor by the "end of March at the latest".
• Now the government is delaying the reform to Lord Geidt's role until April.

New powers for the independent advisor on ministers' standards promised by Boris Johnson to be in effect by "the end of March at the latest" are to be delayed until April, the government has said.

Johnson pledged to strengthen Lord Geidt's role in letters exchanged in December and published in January, after it emerged that an investigation by Geidt into the Downing Street flat refurbishment had been stymied by government failures to provide him with all the relevant information.

Geidt was highly critical of the failings, which prompted a "humble and sincere apology" from the prime minister.

Johnson also vowed to give Geidt dedicated support from officials and "the highest standards of support and attention while pursuing your work", pledging that these changes would be "in place to your satisfaction by the end of March at the latest."

Geidt welcomed this news, saying that he "would expect by the time of my next annual report in April to be able to describe the role of independent adviser in terms of considerably greater authority, independence and effect, consistent with the ambitions for the office that you have set out."

However, the government is now using Geidt's deadline of his April annual report to justify a delay to providing him with the new powers.

A Cabinet Office spokesperson told Insider: "Work on support for the role of independent adviser is ongoing. We will provide an update in due course."

They pointed to Geidt's letter referencing his annual report in April, and suggested constructive discussions were ongoing.

The chairman of the House of Commons' standards committee has criticised the government for the delay.

Chris Bryant, a Labour MP, says the government are trying to "prevaricate and equivocate" despite the fact that "reform is long overdue."

Bryant told Insider: "We were promised substantive change by the end of March. And that's what the government should deliver.

"It's bad enough having one rule for them, and another for us, but you can't have one timescale for them and another for us.

"I'm betting they won't want to do what Geidt wants."

Angela Rayner, deputy leader of the Labour party, said the delay was a failure by Johnson to address the various allegations of sleaze against the government.

Rayner told Insider: "It is no surprise that Boris Johnson has failed to meet his own deadline on taking action to clean up politics and strengthen transparency at the heart of Government.

"In the very same week that the Prime Minister and his Cabinet face possible legal action over the Downing Street parties, Boris Johnson has failed in his pledge to address the sleaze engulfing his Government."

Separately, the independent committee on standards in public life, which is chaired by Lord Evans, has recommended that the advisor should be able to start investigations into breaches of the ministerial code by themselves.

Despite Geidt's request that the December correspondence be published "in the coming days", it took until the House of Commons returned from its Christmas recess for the letters to be published by Downing Street. Geidt's role is formally unrelated to the Commons, being an appointment of the prime minister.

The Commons rises its Easter recess on Friday, meaning Downing Street could delay the publication of the annual report until April 19.

Geidt declined to comment.