*Boris Johnson lobbied for a job for a young woman who claims he abused his power to have a sexual relationship with her.*
*The then London mayor and MP for Henley advocated for her to get a job in City Hall weeks after meeting her and bringing her back to his parliamentary office.*
*The appointment was blocked because Johnson’s colleague, the newly appointed Cabinet Office minister Kit Malthouse, said they appeared to have an inappropriately close relationship.*
*Years later, Johnson admitted pushing her forward for the job when she confronted him in his office in 2017 at the height of the #MeToo scandal.*
*The case is the latest example of Johnson using his political influence to lobby for women with whom he has had undisclosed personal relationships. Last month, it was reported that Johnson pushed for his wife, Carrie Symonds, 34, to secure a role as his chief of staff at the Foreign Office while the pair were having an affair in 2018. He also helped Jennifer Arcuri, 37, an American graduate, secure access to taxpayer-funded trips after their affair in 2011.*
*Johnson met the woman in parliament on November 7, 2017, after she texted him saying that they needed to talk.*
*The woman told Johnson that she did not feel comfortable with the short relationship they had had in 2008. At the time it took place, Johnson was 43 and the newly elected mayor of London and Conservative MP for Henley-on-Thames. He was married with four children.*
*She was a graduate in her twenties who had recently moved to London and was working in temporary roles. She felt the Tory party was her “new family” and had become involved as an activist, volunteering to work on his successful mayoral campaign.*
*She decided to record the confrontation in 2017 so that nobody would be able to dismiss or dispute her allegations. The woman, now a legal professional and married mother of two children, spent years considering whether to come forward. She approached The Sunday Times in April and chose to proceed with a story a week ago, after concluding that MPs and the public needed to know about his conduct. She is remaining anonymous for legal reasons.*
*During their meeting, she told Johnson she was “really shaken and upset” about what had happened between them, telling him it was an example of how any young woman who “steps into this building is fair game” and there to be “leered at” by powerful men. She explained her regret that their relationship had become sexual when she was simply looking to be recognised for who she was and her interest in politics. She said she was going to “stand up for myself”.*
*She then described how they had first met and had a liaison in his parliamentary office. Johnson confirmed they had seen each other at Tory party events and later had a chance encounter in central London before he invited her for what she thought was a social drink in the Palace of Westminster. Asked if he remembered those details, he said: “Yes.”*
*The woman then recalled: “I wanted to get into politics, you said you’d get me a job in City Hall — do you remember I went for an interview with Kit Malthouse?” Malthouse was Johnson’s deputy mayor of London for policing at the time.*
*Johnson quickly acknowledged that he had lobbied on behalf of the woman, who secured an interview weeks after their encounter. He told her: “Can I just say something? I did suggest you for a role and I was very disappointed when you didn’t get that role. I remember it.”*
*He continued: “I suggested you for the job and I was very keen for Kit to interview you and I remember Kit interviewed you. I asked him about it afterwards, repeatedly, why he hadn’t given you the job and I was very disappointed he hadn’t. I remember. And I’m afraid one of the reasons he gave was that he thought you were too friendly with me.”*
*Despite this acknowledgement, Johnson simultaneously claimed he did not do anything improper or do anything to benefit her in an “abnormal” way: “I think genuinely you would have felt it was an abuse of power and an abuse of friendship. You can’t just machine friends into jobs. You can’t. Not in City Hall.”*
*The woman says she secured an interview for a role at the Greater London Authority just weeks after her encounter with Johnson. It was led by a three-person panel headed by Malthouse. She was asked to prepare a draft of a meeting for a mock plenary session, but did not know “what on earth to say” and was ill-qualified for the post. She was not successful.*
*Johnson continued to suggest that the woman might secure a role in politics through their association. Later in 2008, he sent her a text message saying: “I need you as much as my speechwriter — how about it?” It is unclear whether conversations progressed beyond Johnson’s initial suggestion.*
*Last week, Johnson responded to criticism of his appointment of Chris Pincher as deputy chief whip of the Conservative Party by telling the House of Commons that “I abhor … abuse of power anywhere in parliament, in this party or in any other party”.*
*Today’s revelations will put those claims under fresh strain and ignite calls for an investigation by the parliamentary or London city authorities. According to Cabinet Office guidance, those involved in public appointments must act with “integrity” and “merit”: that means declaring any relevant interest or relationship, and considering candidates whose “experiences and qualities have been judged to meet the needs of the public body or statutory office in question”.*
*Johnson’s relationship with the woman in 2008 rapidly petered out. She lost her role during the financial crisis, left her flat in London and returned to her home town to start afresh.*
*She spent years dwelling on what had happened before the emergence of allegations against the Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein in 2017 triggered the #MeToo movement and the “Pestminster” scandal in Westminster. She witnessed conversations about the abuse of power in politics and felt that she suddenly had the language with which to articulate her thoughts and feelings.*
*It was in this context that she decided to confront Johnson. After agreeing to meet him and arriving at his parliamentary office, she quickly told him she was contemplating reporting her experience to Theresa May, the then prime minister. Johnson initially suggested that he would not stand in her way, telling her: “Well, I obviously can’t advise you about that. That’s a matter, that’s a matter for you.”*
*But he then asked: “What do you see as the way forward? Okay, apart from, okay, so there’s lots of solutions. You can go to Theresa May and say Boris Johnson is a bastard and all the rest of it and fine, and I would say nothing, um, I will.” He suggested they instead keep in touch and keep their conversation going.*
*He also reacted furiously to her and shouted when she suggested that he had initially been reluctant to meet with her, saying: ““I’ve been incredibly f***ing busy! I tried to meet you the other day! Jesus f***ing assholes. I wanted to meet you!”*
*Johnson also repeatedly apologised, saying: “I’m very, very sorry, your unhappiness about this. And I feel obviously that I’ve been very insensitive. There’s absolutely no question about that.”*
*He denied any wrongdoing, saying: “I don’t believe that I was malicious and I don’t believe that I would have been aggressive or anything like that. I think that would be not fair.” He even told her: “Whatever happened, I don’t remember myself that I behaved in any way improperly … I really don’t. I think in all conscience you’d accept that.”*
*A Downing Street spokesman said: “This not about his time as PM and no public interest as I see it. And we don’t talk about his private life.”*
We should absolutely talk about this – given abusing your power like this does not fall under “private life”.
Surely this is a huge scandal or am I misreading?
Also – he sounds pathetic in that clip. This is the real Boris Johnson and he is a squealing coward.
Disgusting, self entitled moron.
[deleted]
If you haven’t listened to the audio. I urge you do.
This is the real Johnson. Not the bumbling, “err, ugh, umm”, waffling. This shows what is underneath his carefully curated image without the mask.
11 comments
**Article Text**
​
*Boris Johnson lobbied for a job for a young woman who claims he abused his power to have a sexual relationship with her.*
*The then London mayor and MP for Henley advocated for her to get a job in City Hall weeks after meeting her and bringing her back to his parliamentary office.*
*The appointment was blocked because Johnson’s colleague, the newly appointed Cabinet Office minister Kit Malthouse, said they appeared to have an inappropriately close relationship.*
*Years later, Johnson admitted pushing her forward for the job when she confronted him in his office in 2017 at the height of the #MeToo scandal.*
*The case is the latest example of Johnson using his political influence to lobby for women with whom he has had undisclosed personal relationships. Last month, it was reported that Johnson pushed for his wife, Carrie Symonds, 34, to secure a role as his chief of staff at the Foreign Office while the pair were having an affair in 2018. He also helped Jennifer Arcuri, 37, an American graduate, secure access to taxpayer-funded trips after their affair in 2011.*
*Johnson met the woman in parliament on November 7, 2017, after she texted him saying that they needed to talk.*
*The woman told Johnson that she did not feel comfortable with the short relationship they had had in 2008. At the time it took place, Johnson was 43 and the newly elected mayor of London and Conservative MP for Henley-on-Thames. He was married with four children.*
*She was a graduate in her twenties who had recently moved to London and was working in temporary roles. She felt the Tory party was her “new family” and had become involved as an activist, volunteering to work on his successful mayoral campaign.*
*She decided to record the confrontation in 2017 so that nobody would be able to dismiss or dispute her allegations. The woman, now a legal professional and married mother of two children, spent years considering whether to come forward. She approached The Sunday Times in April and chose to proceed with a story a week ago, after concluding that MPs and the public needed to know about his conduct. She is remaining anonymous for legal reasons.*
*During their meeting, she told Johnson she was “really shaken and upset” about what had happened between them, telling him it was an example of how any young woman who “steps into this building is fair game” and there to be “leered at” by powerful men. She explained her regret that their relationship had become sexual when she was simply looking to be recognised for who she was and her interest in politics. She said she was going to “stand up for myself”.*
*She then described how they had first met and had a liaison in his parliamentary office. Johnson confirmed they had seen each other at Tory party events and later had a chance encounter in central London before he invited her for what she thought was a social drink in the Palace of Westminster. Asked if he remembered those details, he said: “Yes.”*
*The woman then recalled: “I wanted to get into politics, you said you’d get me a job in City Hall — do you remember I went for an interview with Kit Malthouse?” Malthouse was Johnson’s deputy mayor of London for policing at the time.*
*Johnson quickly acknowledged that he had lobbied on behalf of the woman, who secured an interview weeks after their encounter. He told her: “Can I just say something? I did suggest you for a role and I was very disappointed when you didn’t get that role. I remember it.”*
*He continued: “I suggested you for the job and I was very keen for Kit to interview you and I remember Kit interviewed you. I asked him about it afterwards, repeatedly, why he hadn’t given you the job and I was very disappointed he hadn’t. I remember. And I’m afraid one of the reasons he gave was that he thought you were too friendly with me.”*
*Despite this acknowledgement, Johnson simultaneously claimed he did not do anything improper or do anything to benefit her in an “abnormal” way: “I think genuinely you would have felt it was an abuse of power and an abuse of friendship. You can’t just machine friends into jobs. You can’t. Not in City Hall.”*
*The woman says she secured an interview for a role at the Greater London Authority just weeks after her encounter with Johnson. It was led by a three-person panel headed by Malthouse. She was asked to prepare a draft of a meeting for a mock plenary session, but did not know “what on earth to say” and was ill-qualified for the post. She was not successful.*
*Johnson continued to suggest that the woman might secure a role in politics through their association. Later in 2008, he sent her a text message saying: “I need you as much as my speechwriter — how about it?” It is unclear whether conversations progressed beyond Johnson’s initial suggestion.*
*Last week, Johnson responded to criticism of his appointment of Chris Pincher as deputy chief whip of the Conservative Party by telling the House of Commons that “I abhor … abuse of power anywhere in parliament, in this party or in any other party”.*
*Today’s revelations will put those claims under fresh strain and ignite calls for an investigation by the parliamentary or London city authorities. According to Cabinet Office guidance, those involved in public appointments must act with “integrity” and “merit”: that means declaring any relevant interest or relationship, and considering candidates whose “experiences and qualities have been judged to meet the needs of the public body or statutory office in question”.*
*Johnson’s relationship with the woman in 2008 rapidly petered out. She lost her role during the financial crisis, left her flat in London and returned to her home town to start afresh.*
*She spent years dwelling on what had happened before the emergence of allegations against the Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein in 2017 triggered the #MeToo movement and the “Pestminster” scandal in Westminster. She witnessed conversations about the abuse of power in politics and felt that she suddenly had the language with which to articulate her thoughts and feelings.*
*It was in this context that she decided to confront Johnson. After agreeing to meet him and arriving at his parliamentary office, she quickly told him she was contemplating reporting her experience to Theresa May, the then prime minister. Johnson initially suggested that he would not stand in her way, telling her: “Well, I obviously can’t advise you about that. That’s a matter, that’s a matter for you.”*
*But he then asked: “What do you see as the way forward? Okay, apart from, okay, so there’s lots of solutions. You can go to Theresa May and say Boris Johnson is a bastard and all the rest of it and fine, and I would say nothing, um, I will.” He suggested they instead keep in touch and keep their conversation going.*
*He also reacted furiously to her and shouted when she suggested that he had initially been reluctant to meet with her, saying: ““I’ve been incredibly f***ing busy! I tried to meet you the other day! Jesus f***ing assholes. I wanted to meet you!”*
*Johnson also repeatedly apologised, saying: “I’m very, very sorry, your unhappiness about this. And I feel obviously that I’ve been very insensitive. There’s absolutely no question about that.”*
*He denied any wrongdoing, saying: “I don’t believe that I was malicious and I don’t believe that I would have been aggressive or anything like that. I think that would be not fair.” He even told her: “Whatever happened, I don’t remember myself that I behaved in any way improperly … I really don’t. I think in all conscience you’d accept that.”*
*A Downing Street spokesman said: “This not about his time as PM and no public interest as I see it. And we don’t talk about his private life.”*
We should absolutely talk about this – given abusing your power like this does not fall under “private life”.
Surely this is a huge scandal or am I misreading?
Also – he sounds pathetic in that clip. This is the real Boris Johnson and he is a squealing coward.
Disgusting, self entitled moron.
[deleted]
If you haven’t listened to the audio. I urge you do.
This is the real Johnson. Not the bumbling, “err, ugh, umm”, waffling. This shows what is underneath his carefully curated image without the mask.
Here’s the telephone call:
https://twitter.com/Gabriel_Pogrund/status/1545825125810970626?s=20&t=JlJC7w2yA-jaKRsnV-sEqw
Man, Bojo crashed and burned. Remember 2012 when he had a bright future?
Haha.. Shame on you!
How many women has he exchanged sexual favours or relationships with for money/promotion?
By my count:
– Six figure job offered to Carrie
– Government grants given to Jennifer Arcuri
– City Hall job during “abuse of power” relationship
This would have been a story last week but he is gone now so who cares?
Lets not forget, it was the rest of his party that enabled this behaviour.
We should be aiming for a snap election, not just replacing the sitting PM.