rob evans (@robevansgdn.bsky.social)

Boris Johnson under pressure to explain how private office follows funding rules Office is part-funded by public duty costs allowance, which should only be used to support public work of former PMs Boris Johnson is under mounting pressure to explain how his private office complies with rules over taxpayer subsidies after further revelations about how his staff appear to be overseeing his global commercial operations. A leak of data from the Office of Boris Johnson appears to show all three of his staff helping Johnson’s business and profit-making ventures. Secretly lobbied the UAE for a billion-dollar private venture in a potential breach of ethics rules. His work as a “principal adviser” for Bia Advisory, a “climate finance solutions” firm seeking backing from Abu Dhabi’s $300bn investment fund, involved courting a top Emirati official Johnson hosted in No 10 when he was prime minister. Approached Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of X, on behalf of Evgeny Lebedev. The Evening Standard owner, whom Johnson made a peer, was seeking a business relationship between his newspaper and Musk, who bankrolled Donald Trump’s ascent to the White House. Secured contracts with a combined total of more than £850,000 in separate deals with GB News and Associated Newspapers, the owner of the Daily Mail. GB News suggested some of the information was incorrect but confirmed an ongoing arrangement with Johnson. Earned more than £5m from less than two years of paid speeches, for some of which he charged $350,000 (£259,000). The 34 speeches include a conference leadership in Delhi, a blockchain symposium in Singapore and a bizarre turn as the headline act at the 50th birthday party of a German pharmaceuticals company boss. Continue reading... https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/sep/09/boris-johnson-under-pressure-to-explain-how-private-office-follows-funding-rules?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=bluesky&CMP=bsky_gu