Boris Johnson breached rules designed to stop abuse of contacts made in public office, watchdog finds | Boris Johnson

An ethics watchdog has found Boris Johnson breached rules designed to stop misuse of contacts and access in public institutions.

Last month the Guardian published accounts of Johnson’s behavior since leaving office. The Boris Files, a trove of documents from the former prime minister’s private office seen by the Guardian, suggested he repeatedly broke rules banning him from exploiting contacts he made in office for private gain.

Leaked documents suggested Johnson was secretly lobbying the UAE for a multibillion-dollar private venture, amid plans to use an influential contact he repeatedly hosted at No 10, and used senior contacts in the Saudi government, whom he met as prime minister, to offer the services of a consultancy firm.

After the Guardian stories were published, Whitehall watchdog the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba) wrote to Johnson, asking him to explain what he does for businesses.

While Johnson insisted that all rules were followed at all times, he refused to answer specific questions or deny allegations that the rules were broken. His answers led Acoba’s president, Isabel Doverty, to find him in violation of the rules.

On September 15, Johnson responded to Acoba’s questions, saying the stories were “based on material illegally hacked by a hostile state actor. This may explain why they contain so many claims that are false or misleading.”

He added: “The committee can be assured that the Acoba rules are followed at all times.”

The Guardian has seen no evidence that the files contain false or misleading information. The data was obtained as follows: Distributed Denial of SecretsA US non-profit organization that archives data leaks. It was stated that he did not know the source of the leak.

Acoba sent Johnson five specific questions about his relationship with consulting firm Better Earth, which is seeking business with the Saudi government, and his relationship with startup Bia Advisory, which is seeking billion-dollar investment from the UAE.

The watchdog wanted to know whether he mentioned companies when he spoke to Saudi ministers, including Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Mohammed bin Salman and Khaldun al-Mubarak, the chief executive of one of Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth funds.

Johnson said he didn’t start working with Better Earth until Acoba gave him the green light to join him, and Bia Advisory was never formed as a company. He did not answer questions about whether he would tell foreign government representatives about the initiatives.

Acoba was disappointed by Johnson’s refusal to provide clear answers. The watchdog sought to give him another week to respond, objecting to his standing as a former prime minister and “the reasonable expectation that you will respond fully and factually to my questions to dispel any suggestion that you have acted contrary to your obligations under the rules”.

While Prime Minister, Johnson published his own version of the ministerial code. This included rules he was found to have violated repeatedly.

The preamble to the code stated: “The valuable principles of public life enshrined in this document – ​​honesty, objectivity, accountability, transparency, integrity and leadership in the public interest – must be honored at all times.”

But Johnson chose not to engage with the observer’s substantive questions.

Acoba chairman Doverty said it was “extremely disappointing” that Johnson had substantively denied claims he had breached the rules.

This adds to Johnson’s previous transgressions. These include asking Acoba to approve a retrospective application as a £275,000-a-year columnist for the Telegraph; asking Acoba to approve an application as a £500,000-a-year columnist for the Daily Mail 30 minutes before it was announced; and refusing to answer Acoba’s questions about his meeting with Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and a hedge fund manager who later paid him £240,000.

Acoba used the only mechanism he had to enforce the rules: a letter to the Cabinet Office.

Writing to the Prime Minister’s chief secretary, Darren Jones, Doverty said: “Mr Johnson is aggrieved that Acoba has attempted to investigate these allegations, given how the information behind them was obtained.” But he said it was in the public interest to investigate any breach of the rules and that it was a duty to do so.

He concluded: “Mr Johnson’s failure to co-operate with Acoba and deny the allegations has led me to report this to you as a breach of government rules.”

Jones declined to comment on what steps, if any, the government might take as a result.

Johnson has been contacted for comment.