Boris won’t face criminal probe over relationship with US pal
BORIS Johnson may have had an affair with an American businesswoman who was handed £11,500 in public funds when he was Mayor of London, the police watchdog said yesterday.
But there was no evidence Mr Johnson, 55, used his influence as Mayor to secure a cash hand-out for Jennifer Arcuri, 34, the watchdog said.
Investigators from the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) raked through eight years of “relevant” emails and 900 documents as they probed allegations that Mr Johnson played an active role in securing grants and participation in trade missions for the American.
It concluded: “Our review established there was a close association between Mr Johnson and Ms Arcuri and there may have been an intimate relationship.”
While Mr Johnson would have been wise to declare his association with the businesswoman as a possible conflict of interest, the IOPC said there were no grounds for a criminal investigation into the allegations against him.
Deals
The probe, called Operation Lansdowne, was launched last year after the allegations were referred to the IOPC by the Greater London Authority.
Yesterday, the Prime Minister’s spokesman said: “We welcome the fact that this politically motivated complaint has been thrown out.”
He added: “This was not a policing matter, and we consider this was a waste of police time.”
Friends and family of Mr Johnson denied he had a fling with Ms Arcuri and insisted his visits to her flat were for “technology lessons”.
The American gained access to three trade missions Mr Johnson led in 2014 and 2015, while Mayor of London.
She was also given £126,000 in public funds in the form of three separate deals.
The money included £11,500 from the Mayor’s promotional agency, London & Partners and a £100,000 grant from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to her firm Hacker House.
A review by the DCMS last October decided a £100,000 grant promised to her firm was “appropriate”, despite it being based in California.
Mr Johnson was said to be a regular visitor to Ms Arcuri’s London flat when he was Mayor, while he was still married to Marina Wheeler.
Despite the top-level access – which began after they met in October 2011 – Ms Arcuri insisted in an interview that “Boris never ever gave me favouritism”.
She did not confirm or deny if she had a sexual relationship with the Prime Minister, who she nicknamed Alexander the Great.
The Prime Minister has always insisted that he acted with “full propriety” and said he had no interests to declare in relation to Ms Arcuri.
Announcing the result of the watchdog’s probe, Director General Michael Lockwood said: “The IOPC completed a thorough, independent and impartial assessment to determine if there were reasonable grounds to suspect the criminal offence of misconduct in public office had occurred.
“We found no evidence to indicate that Mr Johnson influenced the payment of any sponsorship monies to Ms Arcuri or that he influenced or played an active part in securing her participation in trade missions.”
Gareth Bacon, Conservative MP for Orpington, Kent, commented: “Labour politicians in City Hall have wasted police time with malicious complaints.”
The Greater London Authority said it is still investigating the association between Mr Johnson and Ms Arcuri.