"Boris Johnson started the day with a jog. He had the kind of schedule that would be familiar to any occupant of Downing Street. From 8.44am, he talked with his aides, then chaired cabinet, ate lunch, prepped for prime minister's questions, took a briefing on security threats, and got ready for an interview with one of Rupert Murdoch's reporters."
"The entry for 5.48pm in the official log for Tuesday 26 April 2022 contains one of several privileged interactions that he would later seek to exploit for financial gain. Johnson was in his office, the log notes, alone texting MBS. Within two years, Johnson, by then out of office, would be trying to use the relationship he nurtured with Saudi Arabia's Mohammed bin Salman, widely known by his initials, as part of an intercontinental campaign of self-enrichment."
"Those widespread commercial activities, which raise questions about misuse of public funds and breaches of revolving door prohibitions on lobbying, have been exposed this week by the Guardian after a leak from Johnson's private office. The crown prince, heir to a fossil-fuel fortune that makes his family among the richest that has ever lived, had established himself as the all-powerful ruler of Saudi Arabia, and a player on the global stage."
Boris Johnson followed a typical Downing Street routine of meetings, briefings and media preparation while in office. On 26 April 2022 he privately texted Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman from his office. Within two years of leaving office he attempted to use that nurtured relationship as part of an intercontinental campaign to generate commercial income. Those commercial activities raise questions about possible misuse of public funds and breaches of revolving-door lobbying rules. Leaked logs from his private office revealed privileged contacts and intimate exchanges with a powerful foreign leader. The crown prince controls a vast fossil-fuel fortune and serves as Saudi Arabia's dominant ruler on the global stage.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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