Arcuri PM cast me aside
Arcuri slams Johnson in explosive TV interview
Businesswoman claims Boris Johnson treated her like a “one-night stand”.
A businesswoman has accused Boris Johnson of treating her like “some fleeting one-night stand” and casting her aside as if she was a “gremlin”.
In an explosive TV interview, Jennifer Arcuri has said she wished the Prime Minister had declared their relationship as a potential conflict of interest to avoid her “humiliation”.
Her links with Johnson emerged earlier this year when it was claimed she received favourable treatment for business ventures during his time as Mayor of London.
ITV Exposure has said the pair had an affair for more than four years, despite Arcuri refusing to confirm a liaison.
But addressing Johnson, directly, she said: “I’ve been nothing but loyal, faithful, supportive and a true confidante of yours.
“I’ve kept your secrets and I’ve been your friend.
“And I don’t understand why you’ve blocked me and ignored me as if I was some fleeting onenight stand or some girl that you picked up at a bar, because I wasn’t – and you know that.
“And I’m heartbroken by the way that you have cast me aside like I am some gremlin.”
The Californian added: “He should know me well enough to know who I am. Shame on him for not answering the phone.”
Arcur i claimed friends advised her to “admit the affair”.
She told journalist John Ware: “When the story broke, half the people that reached out told me to categorically deny, deny, deny.
“The other half told me to, admit the affair, fall on the sword, get it over with.”
Johnson has said his dealings with Arcuri were “done with complete propriety”.
Asked if she wished Johnson had declared their relationship as an interest, Arcuri said: “I didn’t know anything about having to declare me.
“Now, if you’re asking if he had declared me, would I have preferred that to avoid all of this humiliation? Absolutely.”
Arc uri said she became “collateral damage” from the controversy, while
Johnson escaped “unaffected”.
She was reportedly given £126,000 in public money and pr iv i leged access to three foreign trade missions led by Johnson while he was in London’s City Hall. In October, a City Hall probe into their relationship was paused after a request by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC). A Government review ruled a £100,000 grant she was given by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport through a cyber skills fund was “appropriate ”.
Arcuri told of attempts to speak to Johnson after he became Prime Minister.
She said: “When I expressed the interest to want to speak to him, I was told there are bigger things at stake and I was brushed off as if I was one of
Kennedy’s girlfriends showing up to his Whi te House switchboard. You know, here to do my calling.
“And I felt so disgusted and humiliated that I was told bigger things are at stake. Never mind you, he’s too busy for you.” The first time she got through to the Prime Minister’s personal mobile, Arcuri said she was passed to someone else who began to speak in Chinese.
She said: “I think they were very busy. I think that was a very
He heard my voice. I knew it was him. And he hung up
busy stressful time, that person is under so much stress.
“I said, ‘I know you’re under a lot of pressure, I get that you may not have time to handle this but I’m gonna hang up and you will call me when you’re
ready to speak to me’.” Referring to another call, she said: “He heard my voice. And I knew it was him. And he hung up.
“He said, ‘ Yes hello’, and I simply asked, ‘ Why did you block me?’ I wasn’t calling to cause problems, I just wanted a simple acknowledgment for what had happened.”
The mum claimed the controversy had caused untold problems.
She said: “It’s caused nothing but utter chaos, destruction and sheer disappointment on many fronts.
“And as a result, I am the collateral damage that’s left behind. I mean, the Prime Minister hasn’t been affected. He puts his head in the sand and looks the other way.
“I’m the one on the ground having to pick up the pieces from my name and my integrity, my character and my business – all these things that I never intended to have to explain publicly.” Arcuri claims Johnson was “worried” about questions surrounding their relationship.
She said: “That was my fight with Boris. My fight was always, ‘ Validate me, tell them, validate me.’”
But she added: “He didn’t want to have to deal with all the questions around me.
“Because there were always questions from day one.”
The ITV programme alleges Johnson’s attendance at conference events organised by Arcuri’s company Innotech boosted her business profile.
She acknowledges that her cyber security business Hacker House benefitted from being attached to a Mayoral trade mission to Tel Aviv in November 2015.
Arcuri said: “In fact, what I have built now has been from what I went and learned and took back from my journey to Tel Aviv.”
The Tel Aviv trade mission was organised by London and Partners, the agency established by Johnson to promote investment in London when he was Mayor and part funded by the his office.
In response to the programme, a Conservative Party spokesman said: “Any claims of impropriety in office are untrue and unfounded.
“Given that City Hall has made an unfounded complaint to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, we will not be making detailed comments until that process has finished.
“Full assistance has been offered to the IOPC so the matter can be quickly resolved.”
When Boris Met Jennifer will air on ITV tonight at 11.05pm.