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- American tech entrepreneur, Jennifer Arcuri has admitted to having an affair with Boris Johnson, in an interview with the Daily Mail.
- The relationship between Johnson, 56, came under public scrutiny when it was revealed that Arcuri, 33, had benefited from thousands of pounds of public money, including funds from the Mayor of London’s promotional agency.
- She was also joined trade missions to New York and Tel Aviv after interventions from Johnson’s office despite failing to meet those trips’ criteria.
- However, the Prime Minister avoided a criminal investigation after the police watchdog could not find any evidence of his influence over the money and trips.
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The American tech entrepreneur Jennifer Arcuri has reportedly admitted to previously having an affair with Boris Johnson following allegations that he used his then-position as Mayor of London to get her favorable treatment.
Asked if she had an affair with the Prime Minister while he was with his then-wife Marina Wheeler, Arcuri said: “I think that goes without saying… It’s pretty much out there… But I’m not going to talk about it,” she told the Daily Mail.
Their relationship came under public scrutiny when it was revealed that Arcuri had benefited from thousands of pounds of public money, including funds from the London mayor’s promotional agency, London and Partners (L&P).
She was also joined trade missions to New York and Tel Aviv after interventions from Johnson’s office despite failing to meet those trips’ criteria.
However, the prime minister avoided a criminal investigation after the police watchdog could not find any evidence of his influence over the money and trips.
Arcuri has previously said that after the pair met in 2011, the then-mayor made up to 10 visits to her home office in Shoreditch and spoke for free at four events hosted by her start-up company, Ino tech, the Evening Standard reported.
The Guardian added that in the interview in Kentucky, where she is currently visiting family, Arcuri also discussed being bombarded by Johnson's "avalanches of passion."
"At the time, I cared for him very deeply, but I never used the L-word. I wouldn't have recognized being in love. I cared very much about this man and I think that's resolutely clear. That's all I want to say," she said.
The prime minister avoided a criminal investigation after the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) was unable to find any evidence of his influence on money given to Accuri or her attendance on trade mission trips.
It added that it was unable to determine the nature of the relationship between the two. It said that there was a "close association" and they "may have been intimate" during the period which was investigated.
Although their 112-page report found that it would have been "wise" for Johnson to declare a conflict of interest and failure to do so could have been a breach of the 'Nolan principles' or ethical standards expected of public officeholders.
Addressing the issue in May, a spokesperson for the prime minister said: "We welcome the fact that this politically motivated complaint has been thrown out. Such vexatious claims of impropriety in office were untrue and unfounded.
"An independent review by the government Internal Audit Agency similarly showed the claims made by the Labour Party were false. This was not a policing matter, and we consider this was a waste of police time."
Arcuri also denied any financial wrongdoing and told the Daily Mail: "They claim I profited financially from my friendship with Boris… It's not true."