Calls have been made for Boris Johnson to be stripped of his access to an allowance for former prime ministers over allegations that he has profited from contacts he made while in office.
The Guardian published a series of stories based on leaked data provided by a non-profit organisation that suggest Mr Johnson has benefited financially from contacts and influence he acquired during his time in No 10.
Mr Johnson is alleged to have lobbied a senior Saudi official he met while in office to share a pitch with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and to have been paid more than £200,000 after meeting with Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro.
Liberal Democrat Cabinet Office spokesperson Sarah Olney MP said: “These allegations are extremely shocking. This is yet another reminder of how deep the rot in the Conservative Party goes – it is riddled by sleaze and scandal.
“The government must suspend Boris Johnson’s access to the former prime minister public duty costs allowance pending a full and proper investigation.”
The files also raise questions about whether the company he set up after leaving Downing Street, the Office of Boris Johnson, blurred the lines in relation to how his ex-prime minister’s allowance was used.
It is not supposed to be for private or commercial activities.
The files were obtained by Distributed Denial of Secrets (DDoS), a US-registered non-profit that archives leaked and hacked documents. They mostly concern the period of time that followed Mr Johnson’s term as prime minister, from September 2022 until July 2024, along with some documents from when he was in No 10.
The public duty costs allowance is intended to help with the costs incurred by former prime ministers who are still active in public life.
It affords former prime ministers up to £115,000 a year to cover office and secretarial costs arising from public duties.
Mr Johnson’s office was contacted for comment.
