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Peter Davidson

Boris Johnson returns to cost of living crisis from holiday retreat where guests can gorge on bear

Boris Johnson has returned to a cost-of-living crisis from a holiday at a luxury villa where guests ditch their mobile phones and gorge on bear.

It comes as millions of households across the country are struggling to make ends meet with inflation predicted to reach 13 per cent

The outgoing Tory Prime Minister returned to Downing Street last night after a four-night stay at Vila Planinka in Slovenia.

Guests who visit the retreat are urged to ditch their mobile phones and laptops in rooms costing between £242 to £542-a-night.

Gordon Brown and SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford have both demanded that Johnson recalls parliament in order to deal with the current crisis.

The ex-Chancellor went further and said Cobra, the government's emergency disaster committee, should be permanently in session in order to find solutions to the problems.

While Boris and his wife Carrie were away the Bank of England forecast inflation would hit 13 per cent this year, while the economy will shrink for five quarters and could dive by 2.1 per cent.

Owner of the hotel Katja Batagelj told the Mirror the pair arrived on Wednesday and left yesterday, Sunday, after four nights.

Batagelj said they did "lots of cycling, hiking, they were really active" and the PM "really liked" the Michelin-guide food, which includes bear prosciutto, pickled quail eggs and foie gras terrine.

During the Johnson getaway they also visited Postojna Cave, where tourists take a two-mile train ride to view vast lit-up caverns.

Batagelj, who has run the hotel for four years, added: "It is a boutique hotel where people come to recharge, so no electronic devices - people should come here to rest and unpack themselves from everyday worries."

She said: "Our staff are really professional so they didn't speak with them about anything personal. Mr and Mrs Johnson were very simple so we just tried to make their space really comfortable without media. That was the biggest challenge."

A Downing Street spokesman refused to say if a Tory donor funded the trip, but said: "No taxpayers' money was used for this private holiday".

Downing Street also rejected calls by Brown for Johnson to summon a meeting of Cobra.

The Prime Minister's official spokesman said Johnson would be speaking to Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi to ensure that support measures due to come into effect later in the year remained on track.

However, the spokesman said that any further measures would be a matter for the next prime minister.

"Clearly these global pressures meaning challenging times for the public. The Government recognised that the end of the year will present wider challenges with things like changes to the (energy) price cap," the spokesman said.

"That is why, at the start of the summer, we introduced a number of measures to help the public. Clearly some of the global pressures have increased since that was announced.

"By convention it is not for this Prime Minister to make major fiscal interventions during this period. It will be for a future prime minister."

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