PRIME Minister Boris Johnson has insisted there is “no interest to declare” amid a storm over his association with an American businesswoman and former model during his time as mayor of London.
On Friday Johnson was referred to the police complaints body to assess whether he should face a criminal investigation over his links with Jennifer Arcuri.
The Sunday Times has now reported that she confided to four friends that they had been engaged in an affair during his time in City Hall.
It follows reports by the same paper that Arcuri was given £126,000 in public money and privileged access to three foreign trade missions led by Johnson while he was mayor.
READ MORE: Watchdog considers criminal probe into Boris Johnson over Arcuri links
Appearing on BBC One’s The Andrew Marr Show yesterday morning, the PM insisted “everything was done with full propriety”. Pressed on whether he declared an interest relating to his links with Arcuri, he said: “There was no interest to declare ...
“Let’s be absolutely clear, I am very, very proud of everything that we did and certainly everything that I did as mayor of London.”
He also accused his successor Sadiq Khan of “peddling” the reports, adding: “I may say that the current mayor of London could possibly spend more time investing in police officers than he is investing in press officers and peddling this kind of stuff.”
Johnson, speaking later on a visit to North Manchester General Hospital as the Tory party conference got under way, said he was “very happy with everything that I did as mayor of London and very proud of the record that we have. Everything that I did when promoting London overseas or whatever and making my speeches was done in complete conformity with the code and the rules.”
Asked if he misused public funds, he replied: “Everything I did was in complete conformity with the rules.”
The Sunday Times reported that David Enrich, now the finance editor of The New York Times, had said he had been told of the alleged relationship by two of Arcuri’s friends when he was working for another newspaper. His account was said by the newspaper to corroborate that of other sources who had spoken to Arcuri. Downing Street refused to comment on the report.
READ MORE: Johnson brushes off questions about Jennifer Arcuri relationship
The claims come after the Greater London Authority (GLA) said its monitoring officer had recorded a “conduct matter” against Johnson over allegations Arcuri received favourable treatment because of her friendship with him while he was mayor of London.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is now considering whether there are grounds to investigate the PM for the criminal offence of misconduct in public office.
The GLA statement, denounced by Downing Street as a “nakedly political put-up job” on the eve of the Tory conference, came after details of Arcuri’s links to Johnson were first highlighted in The Sunday Times last week. Johnson has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to his links with Arcuri.
Meanwhile, Downing Street was yesterday forced to deny claims that Johnson squeezed the thigh of a woman journalist under the table during a private lunch.
Charlotte Edwardes said the incident took place at the offices of The Spectator magazine in London shortly after Johnson became editor in 1999. After the lunch, she said she had confided in the young woman who was sitting on the other side of Johnson, who told her: “Oh God, he did exactly the same to me.”
A Number 10 spokesman said: “This allegation is untrue”. However, Health Secretary Matt Hancock, who said he knows Edwardes well, said he believed her to be trustworthy, adding: “I entirely trust what she has to say.” Former work and pensions secretary Amber Rudd later said in a tweet: “I agree with @MattHancock”.
Writing her first column for The Sunday Times, Edwardes said: “I’m seated on Johnson’s right; on his left is a young woman I know. More wine is poured; more wine is drunk. Under the table I feel Johnson’s hand on my thigh. He gives it a squeeze.
“His hand is high up my leg and he has enough inner flesh beneath his fingers to make me sit suddenly upright.”
Labour’s shadow secretary for women and equalities Dawn Butler said it was a “shocking but sadly all too familiar story”.
“What is it about powerful men feeling entitled to harass women? Boris Johnson has serious questions to answer,” she tweeted.
The allegations – and Labour’s efforts to capitalise on the row – have caused fury in Number 10 at the start of the Conservative Party conference.
Earlier Hancock played down the report, saying there were “always lots of other stories in papers”.
Speaking at a Tory party fringe event in Manchester hosted by HuffPostUK, he said: “Boris has never lectured other people about their private lives. I think that we should concentrate on delivering on what we are in politics for, which in my view is to serve the citizens of this country.”
But speaking to Channel 4 News, he said he did not “dismiss it at all”.
Hancock said he did not know the details, adding it was incumbent not to “react without the full details”, but added: “I know Charlotte well, and I entirely trust what she has to say.”
Asked if he believed her claims, he said: “I know her and I know her to be trustworthy. What I would say is that these are important issues and getting the response right is incredibly important.
“But there’s also something here about making sure that the way I try to carry on my life – both in public and in private frankly – is with a high degree of integrity.”
He added: “Nobody’s perfect but I think that is how we should try to go about things.”
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