Tory bosses paid Boris Johnson’s legal fees as he faced a probe into his relationship with Jennifer Arcuri.
Conservative Party co-chairman Ben Elliot reportedly authorised payments of more than £10,000 from party coffers in 2019 to the Prime Minister’s lawyers.
Mr Johnson was facing an inquiry by the Independent Office for Police Conduct in 2019 into allegations of impropriety over his relationship with Ms Arcuri when he was London Mayor.
He was later cleared of misconduct in public office, a criminal offence, after an inquiry into whether Ms Arcuri was given access to trade missions and public grants due to their affair.
However the watchdog said it would have been “wise” for him to have declared the relationship and said failure to do so may have breached the Nolan principles for standards in public life.
The Tory Party confirmed that it had paid Mr Johnson’s legal bills but defended the decision as a “party political matter”.
A Conservative Party spokesperson said: “This was a party political matter, given this was a politically vexatious and motivated exercise by Labour politicians.
“Financial legal support was funded by the Conservative Party as the matter was clearly a party political attack.
“The Independent Office for Police Conduct subsequently threw the spurious complaint out.
“The House of Commons registrar was consulted, and all appropriate rules were followed.”
Mr Johnson is facing a separate investigation from the Greater London Authority (GLA) over whether Ms Arcuri was given preferential treatment during his mayoralty, after the initial probe was delayed by the IOPC probe and the pandemic.
He could be summonsed to give evidence to the inquiry in person.
Ms Arcuri told the Mirror that she had a four-year relationship with Mr Johnson between 2012 and 2016.
She claimed the pair had sex on the sofa at his marital home while his wife was away and exchanged intimate text messages.
The Prime Minister’s press secretary Allegra Stratton said this week that Mr Johnson had been cleared by the IOPC and it found there was “no case to answer”.
She defended his conduct, saying: “He acts with integrity and is honest.”
