Labor is calling for an investigation into an alleged arrangement in which Boris Johnson used a relative to act as guarantor for an £800,000 loan when he was prime minister.
The party wrote to the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner after the Sunday Times reported that Canadian businessman Sam Blythe, a distant cousin, had agreed to act as a guarantor for a credit facility for Johnson.
Blythe is a friend of Stanley Johnson, Boris’ father. Their mothers are believed to be cousins. The 67-year-old was considered for the position of chief executive of the British Council, the body that represents the UK’s international cultural links and educational opportunities, but the body decided not to hire him.
The Sunday Times said Johnson needed financial support despite earning £164,000 a year at Downing Street. An anonymous source said Johnson was on the brink of “bankruptcy” and had lost significant earnings, including his Daily Telegraph column, when he became prime minister.
A spokesman for Johnson dismissed any suggestion that there was a conflict of interest or a breach of the code of conduct for MPs, adding that he had made all the “necessary declarations that he was required to make”.
Labor leader Anneliese Dodds has written to Standards Commissioner Daniel Greenberg saying there must be an urgent inquiry. She referred to the code of conduct for MPs, which states that “public office holders must not bind themselves to any financial or other obligations to outside persons or organizations that could influence them in the performance of their official duties”.
She added that Johnson “may have breached that section by entering into an agreement whereby he was dependent on the generosity of a person who, I understand, was at the time the chief executive of the British Council”.
She added: “I am concerned that without adequate transparency about this arrangement, it could create the impression that this is a quid pro quo arrangement, something that would fundamentally damage faith in our democratic process.”
She also said that the alleged arrangement was not properly declared.
The revelation came after senior Tory backbencher David Davies used an article in the Independent to warn that Johnson’s allies calling for his return were harming the party.
The former Brexit secretary, who called on Johnson to quit as prime minister last January, said: “Boris will not be the electoral asset that his aides claim he is. The constant drumbeat calling for his return is bound to fail, but in the process eat away at the party’s chances in the next election.
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A spokesman for the former prime minister said: “This is nonsense. There is no conflict of interest or violation of the code of conduct of the People’s Representative. Sam Blythe never gave a loan.
“Johnson neither knew nor in any way assisted Blythe in applying for public office.
“Johnson made all the necessary declarations that he had to make, for example on the register of ministerial interests.
“At all times he acted on the instructions of officials, the Cabinet Secretary and the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Interests, as confirmed by Cabinet.”
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