London, Yiannis Haniotakis

A series of data leaks from his private office Boris Johnson He raises questions about whether the former prime minister benefits from the contacts and influence he has gained during his term in a possible violation of ethics and lobbying rules.

At the same time, as the Guardian publishing the so -called “Boris folder”, Johnson seems to have used a public subsidized company to manage a series of highly paid jobs and business activities. The documents raise questions about the former conservative leader whether he has violated the rules governing the post-Ministerial activities.

Most of these documents date back after September 2022, when Johnson left power, but there are also some records that cover his period in Downing Street.

The contents of the leak

Boris Johnson’s office is a limited liability company operating a program that allows the former prime ministers to claim a six -digit amount on a yearly basis for various expenses. This money is intended for administrative and secretarial expenses “resulting from their special position in public life”.

This leak includes emails, letters, invoices, accounting sheets, lectures and business contracts. Most of them date back after September 2022, when Johnson left power, but there are also some records that cover the period of his stay in Downing Street.

The data was acquired by the Distributed Denial of Secrets (DDOS), which archives data leaks.

Specifically, the folders reveal that:

  • Johnson put pressure on a senior Saudi official he had met during his term, asking him to share a business proposal with the prince’s successor to the oil -producing state, Mohammed bin Salman, for a company.
  • The former prime minister received more than £ 200,000 from a hedge fund after meeting with Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro last year – as opposed to his statements that he was not paid.
  • While in power, Johnson seems to have had a secret meeting with Peter Thiel, the billionaire who founded the controversial US data company Palantir, months before it was assigned a role in managing the National Health System (NHS) data.
  • In an obvious violation of the rules of Covid’s pandemic, Johnson had a dinner at a Tori peer that funded a luxurious renovation of his apartment in Downing Street, the day after the launch of the second national Lockdown for Covid-19.

The public subsidy and the questions

Johnson is seeking public subsidies through PDCA, which allows former prime ministers to receive up to £ 115,000 a year to finance their office, contributing to staff salaries. These resources are not intended to cover security expenses or private interests, and the leak raises questions about the confusion of these limits.

A high -ranking source of the cabinet has confirmed that Johnson has claimed PDCA funds to pay staff salaries to his private office. His office employs three employees. The data shows that all three have been involved in his commercial or business affairs.

The Guardian raised these other questions to Johnson, who did not respond to repeated requests for commentary.

The PDCA allowance was created after Margaret Thatcher’s departure and was always intended to cover public functions expected by a former prime minister, and not to subsidize speculative activities. The private offices of John Maijor, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Teresa May also claim the allowance, as well as the Liz Trars office.

There is no indication that another prime minister has used his private office to promote business interests, although some have faced criticism of how they sought financial gain after their departure.

A decision by the Office of the Commissioner for Information, the Guardian notes, confirmed the right of citizens to know about the private offices run by the former prime ministers, concluding that there is a “clear and legitimate public interest” in understanding the way PDCA payments are used.