The businesswoman at the center of a controversy involving Prime Minister Boris Johnson says she wished he had declared their personal relationship as a potential conflict of interest to avoid her “humiliation.”
In an interview with ITV’s Exposure, broadcast on Sunday night, Jennifer Arcuri claimed Mr. Johnson cast her aside as though she was a “gremlin” after she tried to call him for advice on how to handle media interest in their relationship.
Her links with Mr. Johnson came under public scrutiny earlier this year over allegations she received favorable treatment for her business ventures during his eight-year stint as Mayor of London.
The programme claims both were involved in an affair for more than four years. Ms. Arcuri has declined to confirm whether one took place and again would not be drawn on the nature of their relationship on the programme, but did say she had come under pressure from friends to “confess the affair.”
She said: “When the story broke, half the people who reached out told me to categorically deny, deny, deny. The other half told me to confess the affair, fall on the sword, get it over with.”
- A £100,000 grant awarded to businesswoman Jennifer Arcuri, who had links to Boris Johnson, was “appropriate,” a review of the rules found.
Addressing Mr. Johnson directly, Ms. Arcuri told ITV: “I have been nothing but loyal, supportive, and a true friend of yours. I have kept your secrets, and I’ve been your friend.
“And I don’t understand why you’ve blocked me and dismissed me as if I was some fleeting one-night stand or some girl 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.”
Mr. Johnson has said his dealings with Ms. Arcuri were “conducted with full propriety.”
Boris Johnson was in contact with Ms. Arcuri while he was London Mayor.
Ms. Arcuri said she met a strange response after she got through to the Prime Minister’s mobile and identified herself. She also claimed Mr. Johnson “hung up” on her during a more recent attempt to speak to him after he heard her voice.
- The businesswoman claims the first time she tried to reach Mr. Johnson’s personal phone since the controversy began, she was passed to someone else who spoke in Chinese.
- The Johnson-Arcuri links were examined with “utter commitment,” according to the review.
- Jennifer Arcuri has declined to say whether she had an affair with Boris Johnson.
Asked by journalist John Ware if she wanted Mr. Johnson to have declared their relationship as an interest, Ms. Arcuri said: “I didn’t understand 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.”
Ms. Arcuri said she became “collateral damage” from the controversy while Mr. Johnson walked away “unaffected.”
She was reportedly given £126,000 in public money and privileged access to three international trade missions led by Mr. Johnson while he was Mayor of London.
Earlier in October, a City Hall investigation into their relationship was halted following a request by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), while a government review ruled a £100,000 grant she was given by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport through a cyber skills fund was “appropriate.”
Ms. Arcuri described another earlier attempt to speak to Mr. Johnson after he became Prime Minister.
“When I expressed the interest to want to speak with him, I was told there are bigger things at stake, and I was dismissed as if I was one of Kennedy’s mistresses turning up to his White House switchboard, you know, here to do my, you know, calling,” Ms. Arcuri said.
“And I felt so disgusted and humiliated that I was told bigger things are at stake, don’t bother, he’s too busy for you.”
In response to the programme, a Conservative Party spokesperson said: “Any claims of impropriety in the workplace are false and unfounded. We consider these to be vexatious and politically motivated attacks from the Labour Party at City Hall.
“Previous vexatious and unfounded claims against the Prime Minister have been thrown out by the courts. An independent review by the Government Internal Audit Agency found the claims made by the Labour Party regarding Ms. Arcuri’s business were false.
“Since City Hall has made an unfounded complaint to the IOPC, we will not be making detailed comments until that process has concluded. Full assistance has been provided to the IOPC so the matter can be promptly resolved.”
- When Boris Met Jennifer aired on ITV at 11:05 pm on Sunday, November 17.
