Former prime minister Boris Johnson has breached UK Government rules by being “evasive” about his relationship with a company that set up a meeting between him and Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro, the business appointments watchdog has said.
Lord Pickles, chairman of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba), has written to both Mr Johnson and Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden warning of the breach.
It comes after the former Conservative prime minister failed to clarify his relationship with a company called Merlyn Advisors, a hedge fund.
Mr Johnson is reported to have met President Maduro alongside Merlyn Advisors co-founder, Maarten Petermann, in February.
“Mr Johnson has repeatedly been asked by Acoba to clarify his relationship with Merlyn Advisors,” Lord Pickles wrote in his letter to Mr Dowden.
“He has not done so, nor has he denied the reports in the media that he has been working with Merlyn Advisors on a non-contractual basis.”
Government rules state that former ministers must not take up new jobs or appointments without advice from Acoba first.
