Boris Johnson's friend Jennifer Arcuri has written a bizarre letter telling the PM to "get excited" as part of an application to work at Number 10.
In the innuendo-laden letter, which appeared in the Daily Mail, Ms Arcuri addressed her application to the PM's senior advisor Dominic Cummings who has been on the look out for "oddballs" to work for the government.
Her letter reads: "Dear Mr Cummings,
"Britain needs misfits, you say. Those oddballs, the wild cards, the 'super-talented weirdos' you want to shake up the Civil Service. Perfect. Where do I hand in my CV?"
Mr Johnson remains under pressure over claims he had a sexual relationship with Ms Arcuri while he was Mayor of London.
He has denied improperly arranging favours for his 'tech advisor', but repeatedly dodged questions over whether they had an affair.
With a nod to those allegations, she continued: "Or if you think last year's salacious, unsubstantiated gossip about my relationship with Boris precludes me from applying along with the 35,000 misfits who have already done so, I can certainly recommend a few oddballs who could help.
"I've been hiring people like that for years."
She advised Number 10 to look outside the establishment.
"Forget Eton and Harrow — we've been scouring the streets of London, pockets of Manchester and internet forums for disaffected hackers.
"The brilliant brains Britain needs are lurking in front of laptop screens in every town across the country, often in Britain's most deprived regions.
She ended the letter saying: "As I always used to tell the Prime Minister, now is the time to 'Get Excited'.
Yours,
Jennifer Arcuri".
The Innotech founder, who is now living in the States, has not claimed to have had an affair with Mr Johnson.
But during interviews she said she had a "very special relationship" with the PM while he was mayor.
She also said he regularly visited her flat in Shoreditch, east London, for "technology lessons."
Ms Arcuri's business received £126,000 in public money and she went on three foreign trade trips led by Mr Johnson when he was mayor between 2008 and 2016.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct has postponed a decision on whether to investigate him for misconduct in public office.
Mr Cummings, who enjoys something of an "oddball" reputation himself, wrote a blog post running to 3,000 words which outlined the “unusual” qualities he wishes to see in applicants.
Cummings wrote that he wanted to bring in “super-talented weirdos" with “genuine cognitive diversity” and avoid senior civil service applicants with Oxford and Cambridge English degrees.
