Boris only came round to my f lat for technolog y lessons, says ex-model
THE American businesswoman who received thousands in public money after becoming close friends with Boris Johnson has insisted to friends that he only visited her flat for private ‘technology’ lessons.
Jennifer Arcuri, 34 is said to have denied she had a relationship with the former London mayor.
The pole-dancing ex-model explained his repeated daytime visits by saying he just wanted to ‘be hip’ and learn about computers. Married Mr Johnson, 55, faces demands to justify the public grants and favours given to the entrepreneur.
There were mounting questions about his involvement last night as it emerged that Miss Arcuri held a reception at the House of Commons with the help of an ally of the Prime Minister.
Her company’s June 2014 ‘tech vs brains’ summit was booked by Conservative MP George Freeman, who backed Mr Johnson in the Tory leadership race and is now one of his ministers, The Guardian reported.
‘He may have been flirtatious’
When he was mayor, Mr Johnson found time to pop round to Miss Arcuri’s flat in East London during the working day.
Yesterday the entrepreneur was said to have insisted their one-to-one sessions were to help him better understand technology. Speaking for the first time since the story broke on Sunday, she told a friend ‘there’s no way’ anything took place.
‘He may have been very flirtatious but literally nothing happened,’ the friend said. ‘And yeah, he did go to her flat. But he was trying to be hip, and understand tech. He would come over to get educated. Nothing happened. He lived near her and they became friends.’
Yesterday Miss Arcuri’s mother and stepfather said their daughter had denied any impropriety. A family friend added: ‘He sponsored her. He didn’t s***w her.’
Speaking from their home in Louisville, Kentucky, her stepfather John Jendrezejewski, 71, said: ‘No way would there have been a sexual relationship. The idea is ridiculous. They weren’t best of friends although good friends.’
Referring to photographs of Miss Arcuri wearing a bikini and draped in a Union Flag, her stepfather said: ‘They don’t really reflect her. She is a strong businesswoman and has great integrity. Instead they give the impression she is a floozy blonde, and she is nothing like that.’
Her mother Christine, 61, added: ‘I have obviously been speaking to her since this has blown up and she is very upset. This is a big deal because Boris Johnson is Prime Minister and his previous affairs. She’s caught up in everything that is happening in his world now.’
The friend, who spoke to Miss Arcuri on Monday, told the Daily Mail: ‘She says this is all a smear job. She said to me, “there is no way anything happened”.
‘Yes, she had the pole-dancing pole, and there’s a picture of her with it. But she came to London from LA, and in LA everyone works out. I remember everyone was at it, I even tried to do it.
‘You had to look fit. And yes, Boris was a flirtatious so and so, but I’m pretty sure nothing occurred. He literally was talking to her about the tech situation, and he wanted an adviser. And if you were a guy, looking for an adviser, would you want some guy in his 40s... or her?’
The Government is investigating £100,000 of taxpayers’ money given this year to one of her companies. On Monday Mr Johnson refused to answer questions about whether he had an affair with Miss Arcuri.