Former prime minister Boris Johnson breached government rules by “recusing” his links to a hedge fund, the watchdog said. The fund arranged for him to meet with the president of Venezuela.
Johnson’s spokesman raised some eyebrows earlier this year when he confirmed he had flown into the country Meet its controversial leader Nicolás Maduro.
But now Lord Pickles, chairman of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba), has highlighted further controversy surrounding the meeting, which was arranged by a hedge fund firm called Merlyn Advisors .
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Under government regulations, any outgoing minister must accept a new position or appointment with the Acoba regulator before assuming office.
But Lord Pickles said that although Johnson had been “repeatedly” asked to “clarify his relationship” with the firm, he had “failed to do so” and he had not “denied media reports that he had been working with Merlyn Advisors on a Item Non-Contract Basis”.
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An exchange of letters between the chairman and the former leader has now been published online, with Lord Pickles first questioning him about his dealings with the company on March 18, saying Mr Johnson “indicated [he] Will not be taking up a position at Merlyn Advisors in October 2023”.
Two days later, his office responded: “I can confirm that Mr. Johnson does not hold this position at Merlin Consulting and he has no contractual relationship with the firm.”
But Lord Pickles responded that he had “failed to answer the questions put to you about your precise relationship with Merlin Consultants”.
A further response from Mr Johnson insisted he was “not paid for any meetings held in Venezuela” and that “all Acoba rules were followed”, but the chairman wrote back that his relationship with the company “remains unclear” and Another question was raised.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro met with Boris Johnson in February.Image source: Reuters
On April 9, Johnson responded again saying that before meeting with President Maduro, he “believed there was clearly no need to consult or seek advice from Acoba” and claimed that the regulator was “fully aware of all of my current contractual and employment obligations.” .
But Lord Pickles questioned his remarks and said Mr Johnson’s answers “lacked candor”, adding: “Given the vagueness of your answers, you failed to answer the specific questions that were put to you and also “There was a failure to provide the context of your relationship with Merlin.” Advisers, the committee considered that there had been a breach of the Government’s commercial appointments rules. “
According to the Institute of Government, while Akoba can publicly say the former minister violated regulations, it does not have the power to enforce sanctions and leaves it up to the government of the day to decide what action to take.
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The government last July pledged to tighten the rules and proposed changes to “explore further sanctions, such as financial penalties” if the rules are breached, but these will be decided by the Cabinet Office, not Akoba, and have yet to be determined. Take effect.
Sky News contacted Johnson’s spokesman about the claims but they declined to comment.
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