Boris Johnson faces new pressure over pole-dancing ex-model, 34, as it emerges she shared FOURTH taxpayer handout worth £12,447
BORIS Johnson is under new pressure after it emerged an ex-model accused of being his mistress shared a FOURTH taxpayer handout worth more than £12,000 when he was London Mayor.
A Sunday Times investigation accused his office of helping tech entrepreneur Jennifer Arcuri, 34, win £126,000 grants and sponsorship for her companies.
Ms Arcuri's company, Innotech, also shared a £12,447 City Hall payout to companies for a trade mission to South Africa in 2013, according to the .
The Prime Minister has denied helping to win public money for Ms Arcuri, a young businesswoman.
But the pair are said to have been so close that pals called them 'BoJen' after Ms Arcuri, who had a pole-dancing pole in her Shoreditch flat, posted so many photos of them on social media.
City Hall records show that the November 2013 trade mission to South Africa was supported with a grant of £12,447.
FRESH BLOW TO PM
Mr Johnson has insisted any grants given when he was London Mayor were done so with "utter propriety".
It comes as the PM received a fresh blow today when the Supreme Court ruled his prorogation of parliament was unlawful.
Breaking a 48 hour silence on the bombshell allegations, the PM insisted “everything was done entirely in the proper way” over his professional dealings with Ms Arcuri.
But he would not deny having an extramarital affair with her while he was London Mayor.
Mr Johnson formed a close friendship with Ms Arcuri after the pair met in 2012, and took her on three trade trips with him.
In an interview with the BBC in New York, he said: “All I can say is I’m very proud of what we did when I was mayor of London, very proud of everything that we did, particularly banging the drum for our city and country around the world.
“And I can tell you absolutely that everything was done entirely in the proper way.”
Current London Mayor Sadiq Khan has launched a probe into the allegations, and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport are also investigating grants to Ms Arcuri.
Earlier on Sunday, Mr Johnson had refused to deny the allegations four times while on a flight to New York City to attend a UN summit.
The PM would only say: “I’m here to talk about what we’re doing in the UN and this country’s commitment to tackling climate change, and our role in serving as a bridge when it comes to our American and European friends over the crisis in the Gulf".
Pressed again, Boris said: “I’m here as I say to talk about what we’re going to do at the UN”.
He also refused to discuss whether suggestions that he had helped misuse public funds should be settled with a public inquiry.
Given a final chance to deny any of the allegations, he added: “If you forgive me, I am going to talk about exclusively what we’re going to be doing at the UN”.
But Boris later appeared to break his own rule.
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Later in the exchange with journalists, the PM went on to talk about his time as London Mayor to say how he gets “an ever more enthusiastic response” on hospital visits than them.
Number 10 and Ms Arcuri's representatives have been contacted for comment.
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