Former prime minister Boris Johnson has breached government rules by being “evasive” about his links to a hedge fund that set up a meeting between him and the president of Venezuela, a watchdog has said.
Mr Johnson raised a few eyebrows earlier this year after his spokesman confirmed he had flown to the country to meet its controversial leader Nicolas Maduro.
But now, the chairman of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba) Lord Pickles, has highlighted further controversary around the meeting which was arranged by a company called Merlyn Advisors – a hedge fund.
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Under government rules, any minister leaving office must run new jobs or appointments by the Acoba watchdog before taking them up.
But Lord Pickles said despite “repeatedly” being asked to “clarify his relationship” with the firm, Mr Johnson had “not done so”, nor had he “denied the reports in the media that he had been working with Merlyn Advisors on a non-contractual basis”.
An exchange of letters between the chairman and the former leader has now been published online, with Lord Pickles first asking about his dealings with the firm on 18 March, saying Mr Johnson had “indicated that [he] would not be taking up a role at Merlyn Advisors” in October 2023.
Two days later, his office replied, saying: “I can confirm that Mr Johnson did not take up the role with Merlyn Advisors and he has no contractual relationship with the company.”
But Lord Pickles responded, saying he had “failed to address the question posed to you on your precise relationship with Merlyn Advisors”.
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