{"id":409556,"date":"2025-09-09T04:44:12","date_gmt":"2025-09-09T04:44:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/409556\/"},"modified":"2025-09-09T04:44:12","modified_gmt":"2025-09-09T04:44:12","slug":"fervent-admirer-how-johnson-courted-saudi-officials-for-private-gain-boris-johnson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/409556\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Fervent admirer\u2019: how Johnson courted Saudi officials for private gain | Boris Johnson"},"content":{"rendered":"

Boris Johnson recently approached senior Saudi officials he had met when he was prime minister to pitch the services of a consultancy firm he claimed \u201ccould be useful\u201d to the petrostate\u2019s autocratic crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman<\/a>, leaked files suggest.<\/p>\n

Johnson, who resigned from government in 2022, appears to have led the newly formed company\u2019s efforts last year to persuade the Saudi government to hire it to provide advice on reducing carbon emissions.<\/p>\n

The revelations, contained in leaked documents seen by the Guardian, appear to show Johnson exploited contacts he had made in Downing Street for commercial purposes. They raise questions about whether he breached lobbying restrictions imposed on former ministers.<\/p>\n

Johnson\u2019s overtures to the most powerful figures in Saudi Arabia<\/a> were for Better Earth, a little-known UK-based consultancy firm established by a Canadian mining financier, who co-chairs the company with the ex-PM.<\/p>\n

The approaches included a lunch and meeting in a private members\u2019 club with an influential Saudi minister whom Johnson had met while in government, files suggest.<\/p>\n

Johnson also personally wrote a flattering letter addressed to Prince Mohammed, telling the de facto Saudi leader he was a \u201cfervent admirer of the vision you have for the kingdom\u201d.<\/p>\n

The letter is contained in the Boris Files, a cache of leaked documents<\/a> that shine a light on Johnson\u2019s post-prime ministerial career. The files were obtained by Distributed Denial of Secrets<\/a>, a US non-profit that archives data leaks.<\/p>\n

The cache offers an inside view of how Johnson has forged a lucrative career in the private sector after leaving government, using his influence and contacts made while in public office.<\/p>\n

Johnson and Better Earth did not respond to repeated requests for comment. The Saudi government also did not respond.<\/p>\n

Better Earth\u2019s shareholders include seven close associates and advisers to Johnson, including two ex-Conservative ministers and Charlotte Owen, a 32-year-old former aide given a peerage<\/a> by the ex-PM.<\/p>\n

As prime minister and, earlier in his career, foreign secretary, Johnson engaged extensively with the government of Saudi Arabia, an authoritarian state that rights groups have long criticised for human rights abuses.<\/p>\n

Boris Johnson and Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh in March 2022. Photograph: Getty Images<\/p>\n

Johnson met Prince Mohammed on a visit to Riyadh in 2022 and held a series of official calls with the royal while in Downing Street. The pair were reported to have frequently exchanged WhatsApp messages.<\/p>\n

In his letter addressed to the crown prince last year, Johnson wrote: \u201cI would very much like to explore whether [Better Earth] could be useful to you and the kingdom of Saudi Arabia in achieving your ambitions \u2013 because I believe it certainly could.\u201d<\/p>\n

Offer of employment<\/p>\n

Better Earth was founded by a Canadian businessman, Amir Adnani, in late 2023. How Johnson first became involved with Adnani, who runs a multibillion-dollar uranium mining company and has appeared<\/a> on the former Donald Trump adviser Steve Bannon\u2019s podcast, remains unclear.<\/p>\n

The Observer reported last year<\/a> that a senior executive at Adnani\u2019s US-based mining group met Johnson while prime minister in May 2022. Adnani posted on social media<\/a> that Johnson and the executive discussed nuclear power and uranium.<\/p>\n

Less than two years later, Adnani established Better Earth and hired Johnson, who had resigned as prime minister 15 months earlier, to serve as co-chair of the company, a part-time role for which he would receive \u00a3120,000 a year as well as an initial 12.5% stake in the business, files suggest.<\/p>\n

The offer of employment was signed in late January 2024, a day after Johnson visited Riyadh, where he gave a speech and appears to have attended a dinner hosted by the UK\u2019s ambassador.<\/p>\n

According to the files, Johnson agreed to begin working for the company on 1 February. Days later, he completed an application form for the watchdog that monitors and approves post-government jobs, telling the body that he planned to start working for the firm in March.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was approached with an offer to be part of this new venture,\u201d Johnson wrote in the application to the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba). He said he would \u201crepresent the company at meetings with potential clients and investors\u201d.<\/p>\n

The form did not mention that Johnson had by then already agreed to work for the company.<\/p>\n

When Acoba approved the role in April 2024, the watchdog imposed conditions, stating that for two years after leaving office Johnson \u201cshould not become personally involved in lobbying contacts you developed during your time in office in other governments\u201d to secure business or investment for Better Earth.<\/p>\n

However, Johnson had by then already had lunch with the Saudi minister of commerce, Majid al-Qasabi, whom he had earlier met in his capacity as prime minister, during which the new venture was discussed, files suggest.<\/p>\n

Boris Johnson and Majid al-Qasabi in Riyadh in March 2022. Photograph: Andrew Parsons\/No 10 Downing Street<\/p>\n

Johnson met Qasabi on numerous occasions when in government. At least one meeting occurred at Downing Street, and documents seen by the Guardian suggest Qasabi oversaw Johnson\u2019s trip as prime minister to the kingdom in March 2022. Official photos of the visit show Johnson on an evening tour of Riyadh\u2019s streets with Qasabi walking at his side.<\/p>\n

\u2018Friend\u2019 in trunks<\/p>\n

Leaked files suggest that after the February 2024 lunch with Qasabi, Better Earth planned for Johnson to send a letter to Prince Mohammed with the minister\u2019s support. In an apparent reference to Qasabi, the company\u2019s CEO wrote: \u201cWe have taken all the advice Majid has given us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnson appears to have then drafted formal letters to Qasabi and Prince Mohammed later in February 2024. They were prepared with an \u201cOffice of Boris Johnson\u201d letterhead. It is unclear when or if they were ultimately sent.<\/p>\n

Boris Johnson and Mohammed bin Salman in March 2022. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau\/AP<\/p>\n

Writing to the crown prince, Johnson referred to meeting Qasabi years earlier, recalling that his \u201cfriend\u201d was \u201cwearing a pair of floral swimming trunks \u2026 because we were both diving off the coast of what was then a trackless desert\u201d.<\/p>\n

Johnson continued: \u201cAlthough I now live a life of blameless rustic obscurity in Oxfordshire, I remain deeply committed to carbon reduction.\u201d He noted that he had \u201chelped run the highly successful\u201d Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow in 2021.<\/p>\n

\u201cI now chair a company that offers practical solutions for developing green energy and reducing carbon,\u201d he wrote, explaining that he was \u201csending a more detailed note\u201d about the company to Qasabi. \u201cBut it would of course be a great honour to come to see you and to explain in person.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Keen to advise and assist\u2019<\/p>\n

According to a draft of the accompanying letter to Qasabi, Johnson said Better Earth was \u201ckeen to advise and assist\u201d Saudi Arabia on preparing carbon reduction commitments for the UN\u2019s Cop30 climate summit later this year.<\/p>\n

He wrote that Better Earth was \u201cnot just an adviser but a project developer\u201d. He said the company \u201cwould be honoured to send our team of experts\u201d to the kingdom to evaluate opportunities to partner on developing \u201cnet zero geothermal electricity generation\u201d projects.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe would very much like to meet with the appropriate ministerial authorities,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cOur hope is to help [the crown prince] to achieve his ambitions.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is not clear if Qasabi passed on details of Johnson\u2019s pitch to Prince Mohammed or how exactly the Saudi government, which is a close UK ally, responded to the overtures. However, Qasabi appears to have met the ex-PM several months later, in mid-June 2024.<\/p>\n

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Files suggest the meeting occurred at 5 Hertford Street, a Mayfair private members\u2019 club owned by Robin Birley, a multimillionaire businessman and prominent Brexit supporter.<\/p>\n

Writing to the club, Johnson\u2019s assistant said: \u201cBoris has asked if he might be able to use Robin\u2019s study for a meeting,\u201d and provided details of a small group of expected attenders. The list suggests Better Earth was on the meeting\u2019s agenda.<\/p>\n

As well as Johnson and Qasabi, Adnani, the ex-PM\u2019s Canadian business partner, planned to attend alongside Chris Skidmore and Nigel Adams, two former Tory ministers who hold shares in Better Earth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Boris Johnson recently approached senior Saudi officials he had met when he was prime minister to pitch the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":409557,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[748,393,4884,12,1144,712,16,15,1764],"class_list":{"0":"post-409556","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-northern-ireland","13":"tag-scotland","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom","16":"tag-wales"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115172518554540207","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409556","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=409556"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409556\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/409557"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=409556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=409556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=409556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}