In his international dash for cash, Johnson appears to have repeatedly broken ethics rules as he tried to trade on relationships made in No 10
Boris Johnson started the day with a jog. He had the kind of schedule that would be familiar to any occupant of Downing Street. From 8.44am, he talked with his aides, then chaired cabinet, ate lunch, prepped for prime minister’s questions, took a briefing on security threats, and got ready for an interview with one of Rupert Murdoch’s reporters.
The entry for 5.48pm in the official log for Tuesday 26 April 2022 contains one of several privileged interactions that he would later seek to exploit for financial gain. Johnson was in his office, the log notes, “alone texting MBS”.
Within two years, Johnson, by then out of office, would be trying to use the relationship he nurtured with Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed bin Salman, widely known by his initials, as part of an intercontinental campaign of self-enrichment.
Those widespread commercial activities, which raise questions about misuse of public funds and breaches of “revolving door” prohibitions on lobbying, have been exposed this week by the Guardian after a leak from Johnson’s private office.
