Boris Johnson says he acted with ‘full propriety’ over links to Jennifer Arcuri
29 September 2019, 11:17
Boris Johnson has insisted that he acted with ‘full propriety’ amid a storm over his links to an American businesswoman when he was mayor of London.
Mr Johnson said he had ‘no interest to declare’ after being referred on Friday to the police complaints body to assess whether he should face a criminal investigation into his links with former model Jennifer Arcuri.
Today, the Sunday Times reported that she confided to friends that she had been engaged in an affair with Mr Johnson during his time in City Hall.
Mr Johnson said today that “everything was done with full propriety” over claims she was given £126,000 in public money and access to foreign trade missions led by Mr Johnson while he was mayor.
Downing Street declined to comment on the Sunday Times report.
Mr Johnson 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 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."
The Greater London Authority (GLA) said its monitoring officer had recorded a "conduct matter" against Mr Johnson over allegations Ms 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 Prime Minister 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 Party conference, came after details of Ms Arcuri's links to Mr Johnson were first highlighted in the Sunday Times last week.
Mr Johnson has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to his links with Ms Arcuri.
