Boris Johnson has continued to dodge questions over claims he failed to declare potential conflicts of interest about his relationship with a US former model.

The Prime Minister stonewalled reporters who quizzed him about model-turned-businesswoman Jennifer Arcuri, apparently given £126,000 in grants from public money during his flight to New York.

And asked again about the claims today, he would only say "everything was done entirely in the proper way” during his time as Mayor.

Ms Arcuri, now 34, is said to have joined Mr Johnson on three trade missions when he was London mayor.

Mr Johnson was said to be a regular visitor at her London flat where she apparently had a chrome dancing pole in her living room.

Yesterday he refused to deny he had been in a sexual relationship with Ms Arcuri or if he would support an inquiry into the alleged misuse of public funds.

A reporter on his flight to the UN General Assembly in New York asked Mr Johnson: “This is your first opportunity to reply to that story and deny it. Would you like to deny it?”

The PM said: “I’m here to talk about what we’re doing in the UN and this country’s commitment to tackling climate change and stopping loss of biodiversity and our role in serving as a bridge between our European friends and the Americans when it comes to the crisis in the Gulf, and many other issues of that nature.”

When reporters asked if there should be a public inquiry and if he and Ms Arcuri had had a sexual relationship, Mr Johnson once again refused to address the issue. He was asked once more if he wanted to deny the story. He replied: “I’m… going to talk about what we’re doing at the UN.”

London’s City Hall and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport are examining allegations made in the Sunday Times.

One was that the organisation of London & Partners, for which Mr Johnson was then responsible, handed her firm £10,000 sponsorship money for an event in 2013.

Source: Read Full Article