Non-denial is a feeble form of defence for a PM in the spotlight

Boris Johnson must answer questions of how his private life impacted on his public duties, writes Martyn Mclaughlin

It has been a blistering week so far for the good old non-denial. With the 24-hour rolling news cycle and the endlessly looping carousel of social media posing more questions than ever before, the answers are dwindling in number. Or at least, the substantive ones are.

For Jennifer Arcuri, a woman who has already discovered to her cost that the price of a friendship with Boris Johnson is having to talk to Piers Morgan for an hour, any inexperience in the gladiatorial arena of British politics did not prevent her from knowing when to hoist aloft her shield at the appropriate moment.

In an interview with the chief interlocutor of ITV’S Good Morning Britain, Ms Arcuri was asked not once, but six times, if she had an affair with Mr Johnson, an allegation she repeatedly refused to deny. “I’m not going to put myself in a position where you can weaponise my answer,” she explained at one point.

It is a fair observation, albeit a disingenuous one in light of the fact she was reportedly paid a five-figure sum for submitting herself to scrutiny in the knowledge that such an enquiry would rear its head.

Even so, it is worth remembering that Ms Arcuri, though undoubtedly an interesting character, not least for her ability to incubate a burgeoning tech giant from a Shoreditch flat complete with a bespoke dancer’s pole – is the pole tax deductible for home workers? – belongs firmly on the periphery of this story.

Such questions are best directed not to her, but the Prime Minister. And in fairness, they have been. Repeatedly. Mr Johnson was quizzed multiple times last week whether he had a sexual relationship with Ms Arcuri. He too has repeatedly refused to deny it.

Come Monday, when he was pressed on whether the relationship impacted on his responsibilities during his tenure as mayor of London, he gave an answer befitting an annoyingly precocious sevenyear-old when asked, for the final time, where the television remote is.

“I’ve said everything I’m going to say on that particular subject,” Mr Johnson replied. Which will be news, no doubt, to the Greater London Authority (GLA), which also asked him to provide details of his ties with Ms Arcuri.

In recent days, there has been a growing disquiet over the media focus on this relationship, and in particular, the insistence that its precise nature be revealed. In what was her first – but surely not last – broadcast interview, Ms Arcuri confirmed she and the Prime Minister had a “very close bond”.

That will not be enough to stop further questions being asked about any alleged affair, which seem to me unnecessary on two fronts.

Firstly, for all that Ms Arcuri courts publicity, she is entitled to a private life. Secondly, and much more importantly, the growing scandal should be concerned with the claims public funds have been misused. Having made clear that she and Mr Johnson had a close relationship, Ms Arcuri has said all she really needs to.

The GLA’S code of conduct is clear cut. It states that public office holders, including the mayor, “have a duty to declare any private interests relating to their public duties and to take steps to resolve any conflicts arising in a way that protects the public interest”.

The more salaciously minded among us may wish to know more about that pole, and whether the