Jennifer Arcuri says Boris Johnson visited her flat 'five, ten, a handful of times'
7 October 2019, 08:00
American businesswoman Jennifer Arcuri has said that Prime Minister Boris Johnson had visited her flat a "handful" of times.
The former model and technology entrepreneur refused to say whether they had an affair but insisted on ITV's Good Morning Britain that he "never ever gave me any favouritism".
She added: "We tried having drinks out in public or having lunch, it just became too much of a mob show, so I said 'you just have to come to my office'."
When asked, Ms Arcuri said that her office was in her Shoreditch flat.
‘Boris never gave me favouritism.’
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) October 7, 2019
US businesswoman Jennifer Arcuri says Boris Johnson never gave her preferential treatment and only knew her as an ‘extremely passionate entrepreneur of the London tech scene’. pic.twitter.com/Je4x1gWn2A
Ms Arcuri refused to answer when asked whether she had had a sexual relationship with Mr Johnson.
She said the Prime Minister had been to her Shoreditch office and home "five, ten, a handful of times" and described him as "a really good friend".
"It's really not anyone's business what private life we had."
Ms Arcuri refused to answer questions on whether she had an "intimate relationship" with Mr Johnson.
She said that Mr Johnson had not had anything to do with her other achievements.
She added: "Because the press have made me this objectified ex-model pole dancer, I am really not going to answer that question.
"I am not going to be putting myself in a position for you to weaponise my answer.
"Boris had nothing to do with my other achievements."
Ms Arcuri also said the Prime Minister "asked me to show him a few things" on the pole she had in her London home.
Describing the kit as a "conversation starter," she said she and Mr Johnson "always had a laugh about it".
"The pole stood in the living room, yes, he saw the pole."
When asked directly whether Mr Johnson had ever used the pole, Ms Arcuri said: "I'm never going to tell you that."
Ms Arcuri said she had never discussed any sponsorship or grants with Mr Johnson.
When asked if she had asked Mr Johnson to help with any "sponsorship money", she said: "Categorically no."
Ms Arcuri denied ever directly asking Mr Johnson for sponsorship money.
When asked whether she had asked for money, she said: "Do you think I would waste his time talking about this stuff?"
She said she used £10,000 given to her firm from London and Partners, the promotional agency run by the Mayor of London, to "produce [an] event" she hosted in 2013.
She said: "I produce good, really sexy, on-point events."
