Keir Starmer today pledges to sweep away dodgy dealings in Westminster if he gets the keys to No10 Downing Street.
In his first comments on Jennifer Arcuri’s bombshell revelations the Labour leader said: “If there are questions for the PM to answer before whichever committee is relevant he should answer them.”
Boris Johnson is under pressure to appear before the Greater London Assembly’s oversight committee, probing whether Ms Arcuri got special favours when he was mayor.
But he has not so far agreed to do so. His spokeswoman Allegra Stratton said only that he would “engage” with the investigation.
Last week it was revealed the Tory Party helped fund Mr Johnson’s legal bills when he fought allegations of using his influence to “benefit and reward” the US businesswoman.
A police complaints watchdog found no evidence Mr Johnson did so and did not pursue a criminal investigation.
The former mayor was referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct in September 2019 over claims of misconduct in public office.
It did find “some evidence” of an intimate relationship between Mr Johnson and Ms Arcuri but none of influencing her participation in trade missions.
Sir Keir said: “I don’t care about the Prime Minister’s private life. But I do care about increasing evidence of cronyism and the casual relationship between taxpayers’ money and friends, colleagues and donors to the Tory Party.
“If I was prime minister I would make it a priority to clean up Westminster.
“When I was director of public prosecutions I had to decide whether to prosecute MPs over their expenses, so I know what tough decisions to clean up public life look like.”
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