Saturday, 20 Apr 2024

Boris Johnson arrives at Tory conference overshadowed by scandal

Boris Johnson arrived with girlfriend Carrie Symonds for his first Conservative Party conference as Prime Minister today as he faces moves to oust him in Westminster.

He has dodged questions over his links with American businesswoman Jennifer Arcuri, who received £126,000 in public funding while Johnson was Mayor of London.

Meanwhile he faces a potential no confidence vote in the Commons next week as MPs try to prevent a no-deal Brexit on October 31.

As he arrived at the Midland Hotel ahead of the conference, which kicks off tomorrow, a small group of protesters gathered outside the ring of steel around the venue.

Cries of ‘Boris is a liar’ and ‘get your Johnson out of democracy’ could be heard as the Prime Minister got out of his ministerial Jaguar.

The Supreme Court’s ruling that Johnson unlawfully suspended parliament and the government’s failure to win a Commons vote to reschedule a recess for the conference means Tory MPs are having to shuttle between Manchester and Westminster to counter the threat of an ambush by opposition parties.

Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn is expected to convene another meeting of opposition leaders in Westminster on Monday to plot their next moves aimed at preventing the UK crashing out of the EU without a deal.

Speaking to reporters at a rally in Chingford, Essex, Corbyn said he stood ready to lead an interim government if the Prime Minister was forced from No 10.

In another blow, the Greater London Authority (GLA) has reported Johnson to police watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) to assess whether he should face an investigation over his dealing with ex-model Ms Arcuri.

City Hall’s monitoring officer had recorded a ‘conduct matter’ against him over allegations she received favourable treatment from the then Mayor of London, who denies any wrongdoing.

He is accused of granting thousands of pounds in public funding to businesses owned by Ms Arcuri as well as giving his friend access to foreign trade missions.

Downing Street denounced the referral led by Labour mayor Sadiq Khan as a ‘nakedly political put-up job’ on the eve of the party conference.

Cabinet minister Theresa Villiers said: ‘I think this whole thing has been blown out of all proportion.’

The Environment Secretary told the BBC’s Today programme: ‘This seems to be pretty obviously a politically motivated complaint.

‘The Prime Minister has been clear there is nothing to see here. I do feel this is a distraction and it is people seeking to use the complaints process in a highly political way.’

But Corbyn told reporters: ‘A wholly independent assessment has looked at evidence of the payments made by the mayor’s office to one particular company and says there are serious questions to answer.

‘I think the job of the Prime Minister is to answer those questions.’

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