Monday, 18 Nov 2024

Labour demands new investigation into Boris Johnson amid Jennifer Arcuri claims

Labour has urged a police watchdog to ‘look again’ at opening an investigation into Boris Johnson following fresh claims by Jennifer Arcuri about their relationship when he was London Mayor.

The Prime Minister avoided a criminal probe earlier this year after the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) found no evidence he had influenced the payment of thousands of pounds of public money to the US entrepreneur or secured her participation in foreign trade trips he led.

But the opposition has demanded ‘a full investigation’ after the Observer published Ms Arcuri’s diary notes from the time of their alleged dealings.

One entry from February 2013 claims Mr Johnson overruled his staff’s advice about attending an event promoting her tech venture Innotech and make her ‘happy’.

It says he told her: ‘I just want you to know they came to me and I crushed them. They said: “You can’t do this Innotech in April.” I said: “Yes, I can, I’ll be there.”’

According to a separate entry, Mr Johnson allegedly asked Ms Arcuri: ‘How can I be the thrust – the throttle – your mere footstep as you make your career? Tell me: how I can help you?’

As well as having business links, Ms Arcuri has previously claimed that she and Mr Johnson had a four-year romantic relationship when he was mayor.

Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner has written to the Greater London Authority’s monitoring officer, Emma Strain, to request that she refer Ms Arcuri’s remarks to the IOPC.

In her letter, she said the reports were ‘deeply worrying’ and ‘emblematic’ of Mr Johnson’s approach to political leadership, which she claimed had ‘no regard for decency or public interest, only self-interest’.

A government spokesperson said: ‘As mayor, Boris Johnson followed all the legal requirements in the Greater London Assembly’s code of conduct at the time.’

It comes as allegations of sleaze continue to dog the government.

Labour also wants Jacob Rees-Mogg investigated by Commons standards commissioner Kathryn Stone over claims in the Mail On Sunday that the prominent Conservative MP failed to declare £6 million worth of director’s loans from his company Saliston Limited between 2018 and 2020

Shadow Commons leader Thangam Debbonaire said: ‘This would appear to be yet another egregious breach of the rules.

‘A Cabinet minister failing to declare millions of pounds of additional income is unacceptable.’

The allegations come after the Department for Transport (DfT) hit back at claims in the Sunday Times that Grant Shapps, a keen pilot, is using a lobbying body to protect airfields from development.

The Transport Secretary – who is said to own a £100,000 aeroplane – ‘set-up and diverted public money’ to a new team within the Civil Aviation Authority, which is designed to lobby against planning developments, including housing projects, that infringe on airstrips, according to the reports.

But DfT officials said the Airfield Advisory Team was not a lobbying body and instead provided ‘support to general aviation on a range of matters affecting their operations’.

The Tories have been rocked in recent days after opinion poll results suggested claims of sleaze have damaged their standing with voters, with as many as four surveys in the past five days suggesting Mr Johnson’s governing party has lost its lead over Labour.

One poll by Savanta ComRes poll put Labour six points ahead, with the Prime Minister’s personal ratings also plummeting.

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