Boris breaks silence on his blonde (but wants words kept secret!)
‘Bragging to me and others’
BORIS Johnson last night broke his silence over his pole-dancing friend Jennifer Arcuri – but demanded his explanation be kept secret.
The Prime Minister ended his fortnight of stonewalling questions to give a ‘response’ to requests to explain his relationship with the former model.
Mr Johnson faces accusations he abused public funds and failed to declare an interest when he was mayor of London by doing favours for the US entrepreneur, who has received £126,000 in grants.
He has denied any impropriety but until now has refused to answer questions about her.
Downing Street last night handed over a document to the London Assembly which had given him two weeks to detail the relationship. But No 10 said the public should not see it, the assembly said.
It came amid fresh allegations about Mr Johnson’s friendship with the 34-year-old.
It was claimed yesterday that she had told of ‘enthusiastic sex’ with him and showed off ‘Boris bruises’ on her thighs. However, it is understood that she vehemently disputes those suggestions.
Last night the London Assembly’s 6pm deadline apparently passed without answers from Mr Johnson, leading to him being threatened with a summons to give evidence – and three months in jail if he refused.
But an hour later, his response arrived. No 10 has asked for the document not to be published as it is ‘confidential’, the assembly said. It has agreed to comply with the request.
The assembly had asked Mr Johnson to provide details and a timeline of all contact with Miss Arcuri while he was mayor.
Last night Len Duvall, chairman of the London Assembly oversight committee, vowed to pursue the investigation, saying: ‘Allegations of potential misuse of taxpayers’ money are no laughing matter.’
Speaking about the apparent delay in Mr Johnson’s response, a Tory source said: ‘ Sadly after sending the letter to the wrong address, Mr Duvall – a Labour politician – invented a deadline that he did not even communicate in his letter. His actions reveal his aim is political grandstanding.’
It came as Mr Johnson’s official diary of appointments and activities as mayor was released last night under Freedom of Information laws. It contains no reference to Miss Arcuri, although more than 1,300 entries were redacted.
Further claims were made by Right-wing British political commentator Milo Yiannopoulos, who was her friend before a fall-out. On the alleged affair, he said: ‘It was an open secret – mostly because Jennifer loved to advertise it, especially after a few glasses of wine.’
Speaking after Miss Arcuri gave a television interview in which she declined nine times to deny having a fling with Mr Johnson, Mr Yiannopoulos claimed she had boasted about it at the time.
He said: ‘Jennifer was bragging to me and others that she was having sex with Boris Johnson in her Shoreditch flat.
‘One afternoon, Jennifer showed up to a restaurant in a short skirt, with plum-coloured marks on her thighs that she described as “Boris bruises”. She said they were the result of sex with Boris. There was no suggestion that anything abusive had occurred. They were the product of enthusiastic, consensual lovemaking, she said.’
Friends of Miss Arcuri last night urged the public not to take Mr Yiannopoulos’s claims seriously.
Mr Johnson has insisted that everything he did when promoting London as mayor was done in ‘complete conformity with the code and the rules’.