Boris Johnson has avoided a criminal investigation into his relationship with the US businesswoman Jennifer Arcuri while he was mayor of London. But the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has recommended that the Greater London Authority conduct a review. Here is a timeline of the saga: March 2011 Johnson and his staff are given compulsory training on the importance of acknowledging personal friendships after the mayor was rebuked for failing to declare an interest in Helen Macintyre. She was an unpaid adviser who had an extramarital affair with Johnson and gave birth to his daughter in 2008.
13 October 2011 Johnson meets Arcuri for the first time at a summit of venture capitalists at the Landmark hotel in London. Arcuri, who was a business student at the time, later admitted blagging her way into the event by pretending to be the president of a venture capital club. Recalling the encounter, Arcuri said: “It was just electrifying to see that kind of personality change the complete energy of the room … I walked right over and I said: Mr Johnson, my name is Jennifer Arcuri. I would really love it if you’d come speak at my venture capital event.” February 2012 Arcuri meets Johnson for a second time, at Euston station, at the start of a “Back Boris” event as part of his mayoral re-election campaign. 13 April 2012 Arcuri persuades Johnson to be the keynote speaker at the launch of Innotech at the Hult business school where she had studied. Video of the event shows Johnson saying: “Viva Innotech folks, and forward with all your deliberations. Will that do Jennifer? Can I go yet?” 16 December 2012 Arcuri tells a friend she is meeting “AtheGreat” for lunch the next day. Arcuri stored Johnson’s number on her phone as “Alexander the Great” in reference to his real first name.
18 February 2013 An email from the mayor’s promotional agency, London & Partners (L&P), describes Arcuri as “close to Boris”. 28 February 2013 Arcuri tells Johnson’s communications director, Will Walden, that she “spoke to the man last night” when she appeared to be trying to book the mayor to speak at one of her conferences. Johnson’s diary for 27 February 2013 lists eight appointments, but the last two on that day are redacted because they relate to personal information about the mayor. 26 April 2013 Johnson speaks at an Innotech event at Canary Wharf. 31 October 2013 L&P sponsors an event at the World Islamic Economic Forum in London, at a cost of £10,000 plus VAT. Johnson speaks at the event, saying: “I’m always happy to hang out at Innotech.” June 2014 L&P pays £1,500 plus VAT in sponsorship for Arcuri’s Tech vs Brains event on the terrace at the House of Commons. 20 October 2014 Johnson speaks at an Innotech event at Bafta in London.
November 2014 Arcuri applies to attend a trade mission in Singapore. When she applied under her company Innotech, the application was declined. But it was approved under her new company Playbox. 1 December 2014 Arcuri travels to Kuala Lumpur with Johnson on a trade mission and meets Johnson’s half-brother Max.
11 February 2015 Arcuri attends a trade mission with Johnson in New York despite failing to meet the criteria for attendees. A Johnson aide recalled: “I never discussed Jennifer Arcuri with him except when we did a briefing for the trip to the US. When the guest list was read, he rolled his eyes because there was a kind of like ‘oh good old Jennifer’ sort of thing, and that was this.”
November 2015 Arcuri attends a trade mission in Tel Aviv alongside Johnson, again despite failing to meet the criteria for attendees. January 2019 Arcuri’s new company Hacker House is awarded a £100,000 cyber-skills grant intended for UK-operating businesses. The digital minister at the time, Margot James, later said she was “totally appalled” that the company had been given the money over concerns about its tenuous links with the UK. But a government review in October concluded that it was “appropriate”. 22 September 2019 The Sunday Times reveals that Arcuri was given tens of thousands of pounds in public funds and access to overseas trade missions led by Johnson during his time as mayor. 28 September 2019 The Greater London Authority formally refers Johnson to the IOPC to consider whether he committed the criminal offence of misconduct in public office over allegations of conflict of interest with Arcuri. 21 May 2020 The IOPC concludes that no criminal investigation is required but it says Johnson should have declared an interest in the businesswoman, after finding evidence that officials were influenced by the close relationship between the pair. The London assembly’s oversight committee announces it will resume its inquiry into Johnson’s conduct. The IOPC also recommends that the Greater London Authority conduct a review of L&P policies and processes around the payment of sponsorship money.