It is alleged that Johnson lobbied for the woman to have a job at City Hall during his time as London mayor and MP for Henley. The appointment was blocked because Kit Malthouse, then a senior City Hall official and now one of Johnson’s cabinet ministers, suggested the pair had an inappropriately close relationship, according to the Sunday Times. Johnson is said to have admitted pushing her forward for work when the woman, who remains unnamed, confronted him in 2017 when he was secretary of state. The new revelations follow reports last month that Johnson had pushed for his now-wife, Carrie Johnson, to become his chief of staff during his tenure as secretary of state. The couple was in a relationship at the time. He is also accused of helping American businesswoman Jennifer Arcuri access taxpayer-funded business trips when she was mayor of London. Arcuri later said she had an affair with Johnson. Jennifer Arcuri, who also claimed to have had an affair with Johnson. Photo: Toby Melville/Reuters According to the Sunday Times, in a taped conversation between Johnson and the woman in his parliamentary office in November 2017, she told Johnson she felt uncomfortable about their brief relationship in 2008. At the time, Johnson was married with four children. The woman was a graduate in her twenties. She told him her case was an example of how any young woman who “walks into this building is fair game,” there to be “watched” by powerful men. He gave details about their relationship. Asked if he remembered them, Johnson said: “Yes.” He went on to tell her: “I am very, very sorry for your unhappiness about this. And I feel, obviously, that I have been very insensitive. There is absolutely no doubt about that.” The job was reported to be a City Hall role involving policing. She secured an interview weeks after her meeting with Johnson, but her appointment was subsequently blocked by Malthouse. During the 2017 meeting, Johnson reportedly told her, “Can I say something? I pitched you for a role and I was very disappointed when you didn’t get that role… I pitched you for the job and I really wanted Kit to interview you and I remember he interviewed you. “I asked him about it afterwards, repeatedly, why he hadn’t given you the job and I was very disappointed that he hadn’t. I remember. “I’m afraid one of the reasons he gave was that he thought you were too friendly with me.” He added that it was not possible to “just type friends into jobs. Can not. Not at the City Hall.” Johnson later reportedly texted her: “I need you as much as my speaker – how about that?” The revelations come just days after Johnson told the House of Commons: “I abhor… abuse of power anywhere in parliament, in this party or any other party.” A Downing Street spokesman said: “This [is] not for his time as prime minister and [has] no public interest as I see it. And we’re not talking about his private life.”
