New prospect for Boris Johnson criminal investigation after Jennifer Arcuri agrees to help ethics watchdog | Boris Johnson

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A new investigation into Boris Johnson’s relationship with Jennifer Arcuri has opened after a US businesswoman largely agreed to help officials, paving the way for the prime minister to face a potential criminal investigation.

Arcuri formally offered to assist the GLA’s ethics watchdog by allowing her to examine extracts from her memoirs chronicling her relationship with Johnson and agreeing to be questioned for the first time by investigators about the relationship.

Excerpts from contemporary diaries, revealed by journalist John Weir last week in the Observer, reveal how Johnson allegedly overruled staff advice to advance Arcuri’s business interests and win her affections.

Arcuri’s decision to cooperate with a GLA probation officer reopens the possibility that Johnson will face an investigation into a possible criminal offense of misconduct in public office.

In a previous investigation into Johnson’s business relationship with 27-year-old Arcuri, the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) did not have access to Arcuri’s handwritten diary entries in which he makes “literal” notes about highlights in his phone calls and their conversations.

The police watchdog eventually concluded it would not launch a criminal investigation into whether Johnson had abused his position as mayor of London to “benefit and reward” Arcuri. Nor did the investigators interview Arcuri nor receive certification from the tech entrepreneur.

Her testimony is likely all the more significant because the original IOPC investigation was also hampered by the deletion of City Hall’s key email and phone records which prevented the watchdog from “reviewing relevant evidence”.

Recent developments in the allegations that Johnson has offered to help Arcuri launch her tech business while also pursuing sex will increase pressure on the prime minister, raising new questions about his integrity and laxity in public life after weeks of corruption allegations. swept his party.

After the Observer last week revealed some explosive entries in Arcuri’s memoirs, Labor Deputy Leader Angela Rayner wrote to GLA Probation Officer Emma Strin, asking her to urgently refer the new evidence to the IOPC “for further consideration” of the decision to dismiss an investigation. criminal.

Strain, in turn, contacted the observer to help obtain Arcuri’s notes so she could assess whether the issue was a “serious complaint” that appeared to constitute or involve a criminal offense.

If Strain judges the problem to be serious, she will formally refer the matter to the IOPC to decide whether to investigate Johnson for a criminal offense related to misconduct in public office.

After several days of evaluating whether she wanted to help the GLA, Arcuri finally agreed and at 7 p.m. Friday he sent an email to Strain, the chair of the ethics watchdog.

“I am willing to show you or the investigators copies of the relevant pages,” Arcuri wrote. “However, I am currently based in the United States, so that means you or them [the IOPC] Travel here for this. In that case, I would also be willing to give an interview, if it helps.”

If that was not possible, Arcuri allowed veteran journalist Weir, to whom she had “entrusted” her memoirs, to show investigators relevant pages detailing her business dealings with Johnson.

Arcuri handed over the first batch of her memoirs to Ware after the 2019 general election and after his ITV documentary in which he accused the prime minister of having a “fragile relationship with truth” after Johnson repeatedly insisted that “everything has been done perfectly. A second batch of Ware material was sent from Arcuri in May 2020, in which Arcuri was contacted after Johnson’s recent comments about public integrity and agreed to allow publication of some extracts of her memoirs. One of Arcuri’s memoirs reveals how Johnson offered to be her “strangler.” In a bid to speed up her business career, allegations may reopen the possibility that Johnson faces a possible criminal investigation into allegations of misconduct.

Remember how Johnson told her: “How can I be the nudge—the throttle—just your step as you make your career? Tell me: How can I help you?”

The memos also indicate that Johnson violated the rules governing ethical behavior in public office in his dealings with Arcuri.

In response to Arcuri’s revelations last week, a government spokesperson said: “As mayor, Boris Johnson has followed all statutory requirements of the Greater London Assembly. [sic] Code of Ethics at the time.

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