Boris Johnson is under pressure to lose the funding provided to former Prime Ministers due to allegations of benefiting from connections made during his time in office.
According to The Guardian, there are claims that Johnson gained financially from connections and influence established while serving as PM before his resignation following the partygate scandal. Allegations suggest that he organized a dinner for a Conservative peer who financially supported the extravagant renovation of his Downing Street residence shortly after the second lockdown was imposed.
It is alleged that Johnson used his position to advocate for a senior Saudi official he encountered during his tenure to collaborate with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Additionally, he reportedly received over £200,000 after meeting with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. During his time in office, Johnson is accused of a clandestine meeting with Peter Thiel, the founder of the controversial US data company Palantir, before the firm was involved in managing NHS data.
The leaked files, obtained by Distributed Denial of Secrets (DDoS), mainly cover the period after Johnson’s premiership, spanning from September 2022 to July 2024, along with some documents from his time at No 10.
The Public Duty Costs Allowance is intended to assist former Prime Ministers who remain active in public service with expenses incurred. It provides up to £115,000 annually to cover office and secretarial costs related to public duties.
The Labour Party has raised concerns about Johnson’s conduct during the pandemic and post-resignation activities. Labour MP Joe Powell emphasized that public funds for former Prime Ministers should support public service, not individual business interests. If Johnson is found to have misused these privileges, the new ethics and integrity commission should revoke his support, Powell stated.
Labour MP Lloyd Hatton, a member of the public accounts committee, has also called for an inquiry into Johnson’s spending. He highlighted the serious questions raised by the revelations regarding potential misuse of taxpayer money to support Johnson’s various business ventures and commercial interests.
The Liberal Democrats have joined calls for stripping Johnson of his allowance access. Liberal Democrat Cabinet Office spokesperson Sarah Olney MP described the allegations as extremely shocking, underscoring the deep-rooted issues within the Conservative Party with regard to sleaze and scandal.
In response to the accusations, Johnson dismissed the claims as baseless. He insisted that the Public Duty Costs Allowance had been utilized in accordance with regulations and criticized The Guardian for its reporting.
The government is urged to suspend Johnson’s access to the former Prime Minister’s public duty cost allowance pending a thorough investigation.