London Daily

Focus on the big picture.

‘How Johnson pledged help for my business to win my love’

‘How Johnson pledged help for my business to win my love’

‘I’ll be your throttle,’ he told Arcuri when he was mayor

Extraordinary details of how Boris Johnson allegedly overruled the advice of staff to promote the business interests of his former lover Jennifer Arcuri and win her affections are revealed in previously unpublished diary extracts by the US businesswoman.

According to one entry, the then London mayor even offered to be her “throttle” in an attempt to accelerate her business career, claims that may reopen the possibility of Johnson facing a potential criminal investigation into misconduct allegations.

The diary entries – which appear to have been written during Arcuri’s affair with Johnson and have been seen by the Observer – also suggest that he broke the rules governing ethical conduct in public office in his dealings with Arcuri.

The handwritten excerpts portray Johnson as desperate to offer help to her in promoting her fledgling business as he pursued a sexual relationship with the then 27-year-old.

One entry recalls how Johnson told her: “How can I be the thrust – the throttle – your mere footstep as you make your career? Tell me: how I can help you?”

Arcuri gave her diaries to the veteran journalist John Ware in 2019 after he made an ITV documentary on her relationship with Johnson.

At Ware’s request, Arcuri has now agreed to allow publication of some of the extracts following Johnson’s statements last week about public probity, including how MPs who break conduct rules “should be punished”.

Despite the prime minister’s comments last week, he never mentioned Arcuri in his declaration of interests when he was mayor, and after news of their alleged affair broke in 2019, he said there was no interest to declare.

The revelations will pile yet more pressure on the prime minister after 10 days of relentless allegations of sleaze and impropriety by Conservatives MPs, and growing anger inside the Tory party over Johnson’s own responsibility for, and handling of, the crisis.

The latest Opinium poll for the Observer today shows how the stream of damaging stories has hit Johnson and his party, with Labour now holding a lead over the Tories for the first time since January this year.

Boris Johnson, with Jennifer Arcuri, guest speaking at the Innotech Summit in July 2013.


The poll puts Labour on 37% (up 1 point), the Conservatives on 36% (down 1), the Liberal Democrats on 9%, the Greens 7%, and the SNP 5%. Johnson’s personal approval ratings have sunk to another all time low of -21%. A fortnight ago the Conservatives held a five-point lead over Labour.

Responding to the latest Arcuri revelations, a government spokesperson said: “As mayor, Boris Johnson followed all the legal requirements in the Greater London Assembly’s [sic] code of conduct at the time.”

The diaries, however, indicate that Johnson pursued Arcuri, offering to advance her business interests in the apparent hope that this might lead to a sexual relationship with the woman who dubbed him “Alex the Great”.

One diary entry, from 2012, states that Johnson told her: “I can barely control myself whenever I see you. You make me too excited. Baby I couldn’t wait. All year I have been waiting for you. All year. You drove me nuts. I have thought about no woman as I have thought of you.”

Potentially more damaging are excerpts that allege Johnson bragged about ignoring advice from his staff who urged him not to help Arcuri promote her tech company Innotech.

After Johnson had agreed to Arcuri’s request to be the keynote speaker at the launch of Innotech, Arcuri states in a diary entry for 27 February 2013 that Johnson boasted to her how he’d rejected the advice of his staff not to attend. It states: “I just want you to know they came to me and I crushed them. They said: ‘You can’t do this Innotech in April.’ I said: ‘Yes, I can, I’ll be there.’ I only want to do this to make you happy. How I do wish to make you satisfied.”

‘You are going to get me into so much trouble’, one diary entry alleges Johnson told Arcuri.


Another diary entry, this time from November 2012, alleges that Johnson told Arcuri: “You are going to get me in so much trouble.” She also claims that her lover admitted he was aware of a conflict of interest when she asked him to “validate” her tech work publicly.

Members of the Greater London Authority oversight committee which is currently investigating allegations of conflict of interest during Johnson’s time as London mayor called the revelations “significant”.

Committee chair Caroline Pidgeon, speaking in her capacity as an assembly member, said Arcuri’s diary notes were of serious concern. She said: “This new material from Jennifer Arcuri is significant and the IOPC [Independent Office for Police Conduct] may wish to consider whether they need to reopen their investigation.”

Last year the IOPC said it would not be launching a criminal inquiry into whether Johnson abused his position as mayor to “benefit and reward” Arcuri. Arcuri received £126,000 of public money in the form of grants for her technology business and event sponsorship. In addition, she was given access to foreign trade missions led by Johnson. Arcuri insists that none of them were granted personally by Johnson and to date there remains no evidence that they were.

IOPC investigators never had access to Arcuri’s handwritten diary entries in which she made “verbatim” notes of the highlights of his telephone calls and their conversations.

For the IOPC to open a new inquiry into whether Johnson should be investigated for criminal misconduct it must receive a referral from the GLA monitoring officer – an ethics watchdog – to look into the fresh allegations made by Arcuri in her diary. A GLA spokesperson confirmed its monitoring officer would assess “any new significant evidence” into the relationship between Arcuri and Johnson.

Although the police decided no investigation was warranted, the IOPC found his failure to declare the conflict of interest may have breached the GLA 2012 code of conduct.

At the same time as pursuing Arcuri for sex in 2012, Johnson endorsed the code in which he undertook not to bring the GLA “into disrepute” by using his position to “improperly confer on or secure for themselves or any other person, an advantage or disadvantage.”

In December that year, Arcuri returned to the US with Arcuri writing that Johnson was continuing to offer: “How can I be your footstool to your career?” She added how he was “always trying to think of ways to please me.”

Arcuri says Johnson never explained that their relationship posed a head-on conflict with the Nolan principles – ethical standards expected of public office holders and which promote “selflessness, integrity, objectivity, and honesty” in public life. She says that she’d never heard of Nolan until after news broke about their relationship in the autumn of 2019.

Newsletter

Related Articles

London Daily
0:00
0:00
Close
Unelected PM of the UK holds an emergency meeting because a candidate got voted in… which he says is a threat to democracy…
You Are So Beautiful
Rob Schneider explains California reparations legislation.
Postmodern Jukebox European Tour Version
Who knew badminton could get so intense?
An old French tune (by Georges Brassens) Pomplamoose ft. John Schroeder
Farmers break through police barriers in Brussels.
Sattahip Motor Show 20
London's Iconic British Telecom Tower Sold To Become Hotel
SONATE AU CLAIR DE LUNE - Moonlight sonata
Ukraine Arrests Father-Son Duo In Lockbit Cybercrime Bust
A kiss to build a dream on
US Offers $15 Million For Info On Leaders Of Cybercrime Group Lockbit
Wonderful Tonight - Eric Clapton (Boyce Avenue acoustic cover)
Russia Claims UK Cultural Agency Spied for Ukraine
Mean Blues
Apple warns against drying iPhones with rice
La Chansonnette
Alexei Navalny: UK sanctions Russian prison chiefs after activist's death
Pattaya Addicts
German economy is in 'troubled waters' - ministry
Franz Liszt - Liebestraum - Love Dream
In a recent High Court hearing, the U.S. argued that Julian Assange endangered lives by releasing classified information.
Dream a little dream of me
New video
Unchained Melody sung like you've NEVER heard!
Tucker Carlson says Boris Johnson wants "a million dollars, in Bitcoin or cash, from Tucker Carlson to talk about Ukraine.
Dave Brubeck - Take Five
Russia is rebuilding capacity to destabilize European countries, new UK report warns
Édith Piaf - Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien (Sofie)
EU Commission wants anti-drone defenses at Brussels HQ
Rondo Alla Turca
Von der Leyen’s 2nd-term pitch: More military might, less climate talk
Kiss of fire
Global Law Enforcement Dismantles Lockbit Ransomware Operation
Tom Jones - I´ll Never Fall In Love Again 1967, 1989, 2001
Prince William Urges End to Gaza Conflict
Israel Cachao López - Guajira Clásica
UK court to hear Assange's final appeal against extradition to the US, where he faces charges related to his journalistic work—the publication of a classified video in 2010 that exposed US war crimes against humanity.
Edward Maya - Stereo Love (feat. Vika Jigulina) (Extended Mix)
About 50-60% kids either chose to be YouTuber or influencer
Strauss - Radetzky March - Karajan
A viral video of Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce lying on a Canberra footpath is celebrated by his media mates.
La vie en rose
European Countries React to Navalny's Death by Summoning Russian Diplomats
The Temptations - My Girl (Smokey Robinson Tribute) 2006 Kennedy Cent
Israel has gone ‘beyond self-defence’ in Gaza, says Labour’s Streeting
Orlando Cachaito Lopez Redencion
English farmers to be offered ‘largest ever’ grant scheme amid food security concerns
Edith Piaf - NON, JE NE REGRETTE RIEN
Cameron government knew Post Office ditched Horizon IT investigation
RADETZKY MARCH-2008-Wien, New Year Concert
EU Calls for Immediate Ceasefire in Gaza Conflict
Only you (And you alone)
EU Vows To Hold Putin "Accountable" After Meeting Alexei Navalny's Wife
Strangers In The Night
EU Launches Probe Into TikTok Over Child Protection Under Digital Content Law
Charles Aznavour - La Boheme
The EU Initiates Naval Mission to Defend Red Sea Trade Routes
Summer time
EU and UK Announce Joint Effort on Migration
Sting and Stevie Wonder - Fragile (from Sting's 60th birthday concert)
Brazil's Lula Likens Gaza Operation to Holocaust, Israel Says "Red Line" Crossed
Aux Champs Elysees
Ministers Confirm Proposal to Prohibit Mobile Phone Usage in English Schools
Stand By Me - Ben E. King (Boyce Avenue acoustic cover)
Microsoft-backed OpenAI valued at $80bn after company completes deal
La Mer (Beyond the Sea) – Avalon Jazz Band
‘Alexei would want to tell Russia not to give up fighting’
She
Rwandan Footballer's Dismissal Sparks Concerns Over UK Asylum Plan
Nathalie Song by Enzo Petrachi Stjepan Hauser Cello
Whisky Challenges China's Baijiu Market During New Year Celebrations
Shape of My Heart - Sting (Boyce Avenue acoustic cover)
Avdiivka - Symbol Of Ukrainian Resistance Now In Control Of Russian Troops
Radiohead - Creep
Putin Critic Alexei Navalny's "Killers" Refusing To Hand Over Body, Say Allies
Quizás,Quizás,Quizás - Andrea Bocelli - Jennifer Lopez
"Historic Step": Zelensky Signs Security Pact With Germany
Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps - Multi-Couples
"Historic Step": Zelensky Signs Security Pact With Germany
Pentatonix Havana
20 Tech Giants Sign Effort To Fight AI Election Interference Across Globe
Paula Cole - Autumn Leaves
Joe Biden Accuses Putin of Causing Navalny's Death
Oscar Benton Bensonhurst Blues
Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny has died at the Arctic prison colony
OH NANANA vs ABUSADAMENTE
Tucker Carlson grocery shopping in Russia. This is so interesting.
Nina Simone - ”I Put A Spell On You”. Vezi aici cum cântă Jeremy Ragsd
Julian Assange's Wife Warns of His Death if Extradited to US
NIGHTWISH - The Phantom Of The Opera
‘A lot higher than we expected’: Russian arms production worries Europe’s war planners
Motorshow 2016 Tanjay Negros Oriental
Greece Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage and Adoption Rights
Monica Bellucci - Ti Amo
Hungarian Foreign Minister: Europeans will lose Europe, the Union's policy must change drastically
Michael Jackson - Billie Jean Milena The Voice France 2018
In Britain Homeowners are receiving CPO’s (Compulsory Purchase Orders) so their homes can be redistributed to migrants
Michael Buble (Help Me Make It Through The Night) feat Loren Allred
Memories Canon In D - Maroon 5 (Boyce Avenue piano acoustic cover)
Matteo Simoni - Marina
Maroon 5 - One More Night
Maroon 5 - Memories
Mark Knopfler - Brothers In Arms (Berlin 2007 Live)
Mark Knopfler & Emmylou Harris - Romeo And Juliet (Real Live Roadrunni
Marina, Marina - The LUCKY DUCKIES intimist live concert at Guimarães
Major Lazer & DJ Snake – Lean On Mauranne The Voice France 2016
Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet - Joslin - Henri Mancini, Nino Rota
LoLa & Hauser - Love Story
Linkin Park Jay-Z - Numb Encore (Live 8 2005)
Hallelujah Mennel Ibtissem, The Voice France Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen - Dance Me to the End of Love
Leonard Cohen & Natasha Rostova - Dance me to the end of love
La casa de papel - Bella Ciao
La Camisa Negra
L'italiano (Toto Cutugno) - The Gypsy Queens
Juanes - La Camisa Negra
Jonathan and Charlotte - Britain's Got Talent 2012 Live Semi Final - U
John Powell - Assassin's Tango
Joe Cocker - You Can Leave Your Hat On (LIVE in Dortmund)
Joe Cocker - Unchain My Heart 2002 Live
Joe Cocker - A Whiter Shade Of Pale
Jay Z & Alicia Keys - Empire State of Mind LIVE
Jason Mraz - Im Yours (live)
Jarrod Radnich - Bohemian Rhapsody - Virtuosic Piano Solo
James Blunt - You're Beautiful
James Blunt - You're Beautiful & Bonfire Heart (Live at The Nobel Peac)
If You Go Away - Helen Merrill & Stan Getz (Tribute to Virna Lisi)
I'LL BE MISSING YOU
I Say a Little Prayer
Hotel California ( Eagles ) 1994 Live
Historia de un amor - Luz Casal. Vezi interpretarea Biancăi Sumanariu
Here Comes The Sun - The Beatles (Boyce Avenue acoustic cover) on Spot
Heart - Stairway to Heaven Led Zeppelin - Kennedy Center Honors
HAVANA by Camila Cabello Zumba Pre Cooldown TML Crew Kramer Pastra
HAUSER and Señorita - I Will Always Love You
HAUSER - Waka Waka
HAUSER - Sway
HAUSER - Lambada
HAUSER - Historia de un Amor
HAUSER - Despacito
Great Pretender
Georgia May Foote & Giovanni Pernice Samba to 'Volare' - Strictly Come
Gary Moore - Still Got The Blues
GIPSY KINGS VOLARE Penelope Cruz
Fugees - Killing Me Softly With His Song
French Latino - Historia de un Amor
For A Few Dollars More The Danish National Symphony Orchestra (Live)
Flashdance • What a Feeling • Irene Cara
Filip Rudan - “Someone You Loved” Audicija 4 The Voice Hrvatska Sez
Eric Clapton - Wonderful Tonight
Enya - Only Time
Enrique Iglesias - Bailando (English Version) ft. Sean Paul
Enrique Iglesias - Bailamos
Elena Yerevan Historia de un amor
Ed Sheeran - Shape of You (Official Music Video)
Ed Sheeran - Perfect Symphony [with Andrea Bocelli]
Ed Sheeran - Perfect (Official Music Video)
Easy On Me - Adele (Boyce Avenue 90’s style piano acoustic cover) on S
ERA - Ameno
ELENA YEREVAN- Cancion Del Mariachi-IN STUDIO-2017 DPR
Dust In The Wind - Kansas (Boyce Avenue acoustic cover)
Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
Despacito x Shape Of You - Pentatonix
Deep Purple - Child In Time - Live (1970)
David Foster When A Man Loves A WomanIt's A Mans World (SealMichael Bo
Dance me to the end of Love ( Pi-Air Design )
Coolio - Gangsta's Paradise (feat. L.V.) [Official Music Video]
Conquest Of Paradise (Vangelis), played on Böhm Emporio organ
Cielito Lindo
Chico & The Gypsies - Bamboleo
Canción Del Mariachi - Antonio Banderas, Los Lobos • Desperado
Camila Cabello - Havana (Audio) ft. Young Thug
Camila Cabello - Havana ( cover by J.Fla )
California Dreamin' - The Mamas & The Papas José Feliciano (Boyce Ave
Buster Benton - Money Is The Name of The Game
Hallelujah Pentatonix
Bobby McFerrin - Don't Worry Be Happy (Official Music Video)
Bob Dylan - Knockin' On Heaven's Door Emilia The Voice Kids France
Besame Mucho - Cesaria Evora
Ben E. King - Stand by Me Sax Cover Alexandra Ilieva Thomann
Bella Ciao
Bella Ciao - INSTRUMENTAL
Beautiful in White x Canon in D (Piano Cover by Riyandi Kusuma)
Bad Romance - Vintage 1920's Gatsby Style Lady Gaga Cover ft. Ariana Savalas & Sarah Reich(1)
BELLA CIAO 2020 - KARAOKE ITALIANO
BAMBOLEO - Gipsy Kings • Antonio Banderas, Katya Virshilas
BAILANDO (original)
Awesome Ukrainian yodeler - SOFIA SHKIDCHENKO (with English subtitles)
Avicii - The Nights
Atom - The Great Gig in the Sky
Aretha Franklin - (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman (Official Ly
Antonio Banderas - Cancion del Mariachi (Desperado)
André Rieu - Zorba's Dance (Sirtaki)
André Rieu - Can't Help Falling In Love
André Rieu & Mirusia - Ave Maria
Andrew Reyes Elton John - Don't Let The Sun Go Down The Voice 2020 (
Andreas Kümmert Whiter Shade Of Pale The Voice of Germany 2013 Showd
And I Love You So
All About That Bass - Postmodern Jukebox European Tour Version
Alan Walker - Faded (Piano Cover)
Ain't No Sunshine -- Bill Withers (cover by Canen 12 y.o.)
African music
Adriana Vidović - “Creep” Audicija 4 The Voice Hrvatska Sezona 3
Adriana Vidović - “Believer” Nokaut 3 The Voice Hrvatska Sezona 3
A Fistful of Dollars - The Danish National Symphony Orchestra and Tuva
4 Beautiful Soundtracks Relaxing Piano [10min]
2CELLOS - Whole Lotta Love vs. Beethoven 5th Symphony [OFFICIAL VIDEO]
2CELLOS - Smooth Criminal (Live at Suntory Hall, Tokyo)
2CELLOS - Smells Like Teen Spirit [Live at Sydney Opera House]
2CELLOS - Despacito [OFFICIAL VIDEO]
13 Year Old Girl Playing Il Silenzio (The Silence) - André Rieu
094.All About That Bass
00 - SADNESS PART 1
(Ghost) Riders In the Sky (American Outlaws Live at Nassau Coliseum, 1
(Everything I Do) I Do It For You - Bryan Adams (Boyce Avenue ft. Conn
What a wonderful world
Moon river
×