William Hague moves into grace-and-favour flat... but he’s paying for the decorating

William Hague has moved into a sumptuous grace-and-favour home, the Standard reveals today.

The Foreign Secretary is living at 1 Carlton Gardens in central London. The former Tory leader and his wife Ffion moved into the property last month.

Carlton Gardens is the official residence of the Foreign Secretary, but his predecessor David Miliband only used it for official engagements, including meetings with senior representatives of foreign governments.

The Hagues are personally paying to redecorate the ministerial flat at the prestigious London property.

The Foreign Office said any increase in running costs caused by the Hagues using the flat would be "minimal".

However, Mr Hague's decision to use the home may raise eyebrows given the swingeing cuts in public spending being ordered by the Lib-Con coalition.

The last Foreign Secretary to live at 1 Carlton Gardens was Margaret Beckett, from September 2006 until October 2007.

Leased by the Foreign Office from the Crown Estate, it has been the official residence of the Foreign Secretary since 1945.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "The Foreign Secretary will pay the council tax and tax on associated services on the residential flat in line with the ministerial code. He will personally pay the cost of re-decoration associated with his moving in."

The Foreign Secretary is also sharing Chevening House in Kent — a renaissance-style building set in 3,500 acres — with Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg. They have vowed to be "grown up" in the timeshare arrangement over the use of the 115-room house.

It was left to the nation in 1967 by the Earl of Stanhope to be used by the Prime Minister, a senior Cabinet minister or a direct descendant of King George VI.