Newts threaten Boris Johnson’s plan to build swimming pool

Creature railed against by ex-prime minister could thwart planning application for Oxfordshire home

Boris Johnson may finally be out of political hot water, but plans to erect an outdoor swimming pool at his Oxfordshire home have been disrupted by a population of great crested newts.

Since leaving frontline politics, the former prime minister has been keen to press ahead with improvements to the home he purchased in May and has been living in with his wife, Carrie, and their three children.