Tory leadership hopeful Boris Johnson has been forced to make a grovelling apology to the ethics watchdog after failing to declare he part-owned a country house for almost a year.
The former foreign secretary bought a 20 per cent share worth more than £100,000 in a Somerset property in late January 2018 and should have registered it with the authorities within 28 days.
But he failed to alert the Commons Standards Committee about his share of the 'rental property' until the middle of January this year.
It today blasted Mr Johnson, a front-runner to replace Theresa May, saying he had displayed 'an over-casual attitude towards obeying the rules of the House', in conjunction with 'a lack of effective organisation within [his] office'.
It is the latest embarrassing run-in with the authorities for Mr Johnson, who was forced to make an apology in the Commons in December after failing to correctly register payments he had received for newspaper columns and books.
He is seen as the favourite to replace Theresa May if, as expected, she quits as Tory leader later this year.
The censure is Mr Johnson's latest brush with the ethics watchdog over problems with him registering his financial interests
The watchdog said it had received an apology from the Uxbridge MP, who claimed he had been 'misled' by the relevant section of the Register of Members' Financial Interests, which governs what MPs have to reveal about their private financial affairs.
The committee said: 'We conclude with concern that these two investigations by the commissioner in rapid succession demonstrate a pattern of behaviour by Mr Johnson.
'While there is no suggestion that he has at any time tried deliberately to conceal the extent of his interests, this latest breach reinforces the view which we expressed in our previous report, that he has displayed 'an over-casual attitude towards obeying the rules of the House', in conjunction with 'a lack of effective organisation within (his) office'.
'We find it particularly regrettable that Mr Johnson gave an assurance to the commissioner that his registration of financial interests was up to date, and within a very short period it proved not to be.'
It instructed Mr Johnson to meet with the Registrar of Members' Financial Interests in person to receive a full briefing from her on his obligations as a MP to register all relevant interests.
The committee added it would consider any further breaches of the rules as a matter which may call for 'more serious sanction'.
Parliamentary Standards Commissioner Kathryn Stone initiated the probe into Mr Johnson's financial affairs in February off her own back, the report reveals.
While probing his previous failures in December she asked him to confirm his register of interests was up to date and received assurances it was.
But he then registered the property on January 17 this year, stating he had been notified of the purchase of a fifth-share in the building on January 25 the previous year.
In a memo attached to the Committee report today she said Mr Johnson had apologised, but added: 'I do not accept that this was an inadvertent breach of the rules.
'Mr Johnson has co-operated fully with my inquiry, but his failure to check properly that he had brought his Register entry up to date during my last inquiry might be regarded as showing a lack of respect for the House's rules and for the standards system.
'That does not demonstrate the leadership, which one would expect of a long-standing and senior Member of the House, nor compliance with the general principles of conduct.'
Boris Johnson made a grovelling apology to the Commons in December (pictured) after he was lashed by a previous standards inquiry for his 'over-casual attitude' to Parliament's rules
In December Mr Johnson stood up in the Commons and apologised for his 'over-casual attitude' to the rules that meant he declared almost £53,000 in outside earnings late.
Mr Johnson insisted it was an 'inadvertent' mistake but told MPs he was making a 'full and unreserved apology'.
The former foreign secretary insisted he had no intention of misleading the House when he failed to report the earnings inside a 28-day deadline.
Most of the payments were for royalties on Mr Johnson's books - the most prominent of which is a biography of Winston Churchill.
One was for the first payment he received from the Daily Telegraph for his £275,000 a year column. The inquiry was triggered by a complaint about this payment after he resigned as Foreign Secretary in July.
Mr Johnson insisted to an inquiry the breaches of the rules were accidental but the Standards Committee said he took an 'over-casual attitude' and ordered him to apologise.
Shadow cabinet office minister Jon Trickett said: 'Boris Johnson's façade of buffoonery will not hide the fact that he has broken the rules for failing to declare his financial interests.
'Worryingly this is becoming a pattern of behaviour: it is the 10th time he has registered his financial interests late.
'Mr Johnson has to realise that these rules are in place to strengthen democracy and ensure the interests of MPs are transparent. He cannot simply run roughshod over them.
'The report notes his lack of leadership in following the rules, which does not bode well should he have ambitions to topple Theresa May.'
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News Photo Boris gets ANOTHER slap on the wrist for failing to declare his £100k+ stake in Somerset home
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