Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
I MISS YOU & I NEED YOU
‘Last text’ Johnson sent to his US friend Jennifer
He was formally referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct last September, a f t e r Ar c u r i received public money and access to trade trips led by him when he was mayor. Ms Arcuri had been awarded thousands of pounds in public money, including £11,500 by the may o r ’s p r o mot i o n a l agency London & Partners.
Johnson’s office also intervened to give her a place on trade missions to New York and Tel Aviv with him, after she was initially turned down because she had failed to meet the criteria.
Bower, 74, a respected investigative journalist, writes in the book about the alleged row last year between Johnson and Carrie, who gave birth to their first child, Wilfred, in April. It was claimed Carrie was screaming that Johnson had spilled red wine on her sofa and reportedly said: “You just don’t care for anything because you’re spoilt.”
Johnson is said to have shouted, “Get off my f***ing laptop!”. This was allegedly followed by a loud crashing noise of glasses or plates.
Carrie is also said to have shouted, “Get off me!”, which she has denied saying.
Bower says in the book: “No one disputed there had been an argument, fuelling intense speculation about the cause.
Some said Carrie was furious that Boris had returned late from seeing Marina, who at the time was recovering from cervical cancer treatment.
“Others claimed Carrie was angry that former mistress Petronella Wyatt had texted Boris, mocking Carrie’s ‘undignified half-naked’ performance on top of a car (she had posted a fun photo of herself on Instagram) and saying ‘she needs her teeth fixed’.
“There were claims that he was looking at photos of Jennifer Arcuri.
“The truth was that Carrie, in an emotional outburst, was upset by Boris spilling a glass of red wine on
Close when he was London mayor but ‘she wanted kids and cut him out of her life’
her sofa: a domestic tiff.” The book, which is being serialised in the Mail on Sunday, also claims if Marina had not ended her marriage to the now-prime Minister, “his fling with Carrie Symonds would have ended abruptly”.
VOLATILE
It adds: “In st e a d , h e b e c a me unintentionally close to a woman only five years older than his eldest daughter.”
Bower adds: “When their affair began in 2018, nobody on the Tory Party circuit could avoid Carrie, the then 29-year-old director of its communications team who regularly posted glamorous photos of herself on social media. While some praised her sound j udgment and loyalty, others in party headquarters d e s c r i b e d h e r a s ma n i p u l a t i v e , v olatile and aggressive, esp ecially towards women.
“Some said she has a ‘ polarising personality’ and had been appointed because of a close friendship with Zac Goldsmith.
“In 2017, her long-term relationship with a journalist broke up and she began advising Boris.
“Moody, uncertain and i nsecure, he needed company and reassurance from yet another new trusted female confidante.
“Carrie’s critics said that what started
QUESTIONS Their links were probed by watchdog
BORIS & JENNIFER
PARENTS The couple had their first child, Wilfred, in April
BORIS & CARRIE
Author alleges fling would have ended if his wife had not pulled plug on marriage
as a fling became, to match her ambition, a serious affair. Others said that she filled a vacancy. Inevitably, Marina found out about the relationship.
“There were fierce arguments but, after making a full confession, Boris had hoped for forgiveness from his loyal soulmate.
“Marina was emphatic. She couldn’t take his infidelity any more. She explicitly blamed his father, Stanley.
“All Boris’ worst qualities stemmed from that relationship. She refused to live with her husband any more.
“Boris seems never to have considered the consequences of a permanent break-up with his wife, or that it would wreck his relationship with their children. Lara, their eldest daughter, told a friend: ‘He’s a selfish b*****d. Mum is finished with him. She’ll never take him back now.’
“Lara later posted on Instagram that this period was ‘the hardest and most hurtful year of my life’.
“Under Carrie’s guidance, Boris began losing weight – off alcohol and late-night binges of cheese and chorizo.
“Their relationship had taken a course that was not intended by Boris.”