The British prime minister likes to recite Shakespeare to get him in the mood for sex, according to the American woman whose extraordinary claims of a long affair with Boris Johnson could potentially land him in legal trouble.
It’s been rumored for years that Jennifer Arcuri had a sexual relationship with Johnson, but she finally opened up about it this weekend. The businesswoman offered stomach-turning details of Johnson’s proclivities, telling the Sunday Mirror that the pair would read the bard’s works aloud before having sex on the sofa in the PM’s family home.
“We moved on to reading Macbeth, which was a kind of foreplay routine we had,” said Arcuri. “I said, ‘Let’s skip to the good stuff.’ He said, ‘I love that about you, you just want to get to the good part.’ After we made love… I felt conflicted being there in his family home and seeing him like this but I couldn’t help but love the feeling of being desired.”
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Arcuri, who claims the fling lasted for four years, also shared sordid details of text messages he allegedly sent to her. In one, he apparently requested a photograph of her with the very specific instructions: “No clothes on.” After she sent a pic, he’s said to have simply replied: “Wow.” Johnson is also claimed to have reacted to a nude of Arcuri by describing it as “enough to make a bishop kick a hole in a stained-glass window,” thereby compounding his literary sins by quoting the crime novelist Raymond Chandler without attribution.
While the salacious details have been the source of great amusement in the British press, they could have serious consequences. After its initial story, the Mirror reported that Johnson could be forced to give evidence in person over his alleged relationship. The affair is said to have overlapped with Johnson’s time as London mayor, but, despite her business appearing to receive special treatment, their relationship was never declared.
Arcuri was allegedly granted access to events at three top-level trade missions that she wasn’t qualified for, and her companies also received £126,000 pounds (around $174,000) in sponsorship and grant money from organizations overseen by Johnson in his role as mayor.
While Johnson avoided a criminal investigation into his relationship with Arcuri after investigators found “no evidence” that he used his position to influence the donations, investigators did conclude that some decisions were influenced by the pair’s relationship, so a separate investigation into Johnson’s conduct when he was mayor is now going ahead.
That investigation, which is being carried out by the Greater London Authority, could see Johnson forced to give in-person evidence, according to the Mirror. Johnson’s press secretary said Monday that he’ll “engage” with the GLA inquiry over his links to Arcuri, though wouldn’t be drawn on whether Johnson would be willing to provide in-person evidence.
The investigation will determine whether Johnson acted with “honesty and integrity,” and if Arcuri was given “preferential treatment.” If the prime minister refuses to give evidence without “reasonable excuse,” he could potentially face a fine or even a three-month jail term.
As for the state of Johnson and Arcuri’s current relationship, she has fallen out with him over his repeated strong denials of the affair. “He just took the most cowardly, wet noodle of approaches,” said the California businesswoman. “A great leader is charismatic, courageous, and brave. None of these words I would use to describe Boris Johnson.”
