The American businesswoman at the centre of a scandal surrounding the use of public money has refused to answer questions about the nature of her relationship with Boris Johnson.
Jennifer Arcuri appeared on ITV’s Good Morning Britain on Monday morning for her first televised UK interview, during which she declined to give details on whether or not she had been involved in an “intimate relationship” with the prime minister during his time as the mayor of London.
She said Johnson had been to her Shoreditch office and home “five, ten, a handful of times” and described him as “a really good friend”.
“It’s really not anyone’s business what private life we had.”
When asked, Arcuri said that her office was in her Shoreditch flat.
Arcuri, a technology entrepreneur and former model, said that Johnson “asked me to show him a few things” on the pole she had in her London home.
Describing the kit as a “conversation starter,” she said she and Johnson “always had a laugh about it”.
“The pole stood in the living room, yes, he saw the pole.”
When asked directly whether Johnson had ever used the pole, Arcuri said: “I’m never going to tell you that.”
She claimed she did not have time for the media attention surrounding Johnson when they met in public.
She added: “We tried having drinks out in public or having lunch, it just became too much of a mob show, so I said ‘you just have to come to my office’.”
Questions surrounding the pair’s relationship have led to Johnson being referred to the police complaints body for England and Wales to assess whether he should face a criminal investigation.
Speaking after Arcuri’s interview, Johnson refused to offer further comment.
“I’ve really said everything I want to say about that,” the PM said.
The referral was in relation to allegations that Arcuri, who moved to London seven years ago, was given £126,000 in public money and had privileged access to three foreign trade missions led by Johnson during his time as mayor.
During the interview Arcuri refused to delve into whether they had been involved in an affair. However she insisted that Johnson “never ever gave me any favouritism”.
She said Johnson had not had anything to do with her business achievements, adding: “Because the press have made me this objectified ex-model pole dancer, I am really not going to answer that question.
“I am not going to be putting myself in a position for you to weaponise my answer.
“Boris had nothing to do with my other achievements.”
The businesswoman said she had never discussed any sponsorship or grants with the then-mayor.
When asked if she had asked Johnson to help with any “sponsorship money”, she said: “Categorically no.”
When asked whether she had asked for money, she said: “Do you think I would waste his time talking about this stuff?”
She said she used £10,000 given to her firm from London and Partners, the promotional agency run by the mayor of London, to “produce [an] event” she hosted in 2013.
She said: “I produce good, really sexy, on-point events.”
She said Johnson had “absolutely nothing to do” with the £100,000 grant given to her company, Hacker House, in January this year.
When asked whether the company operates out of the UK, despite her relocation to California, she said: “Yes, we operate out of the UK.
“Before this story hit we had eight staff, two contractors and two part-time developers in the UK.”
She said she had been part of three trade missions not because of her relationship with Johnson, but due to the work she was doing.
She added: “At the end of the day, I was allowed to go on that trade mission as a delegate because of who I was.”
Arcuri said that she and Johnson stopped speaking regularly when she became pregnant at the end of 2016.
When asked whether the prime minister had made contact with her since the story hit the headlines, she said: “I think Boris has enough on his plate right now.
“Three years ago, he told us Britain needs to leave the EU, and I wish him all the best with that.
“I want him to stay focused on the job. I don’t need him right now, Britain needs him right now.”