A short history of prime ministers getting into trouble with the law

Boris Johnson’s relationship with Jennifer Arcuri is by no means the first time a British leader has been caught in a scandal, writes Sean O’Grady

Both Johnson and Arcuri deny they had an intimate relationship (Innotech Network/YouTube)

So the strange story of the prime minister and the ex-model appears to have been brought to a close. Boris Johnson’s alleged misuse of his office when mayor of London merits no further action, according to the Independent Office for Police Conduct who were looking into the matter (at the time of the events, Mr Johnson was in charge of the Metropolitan Police, raising a potential conflict of interest). They did state that there “may have been an intimate relationship” between Mr Johnson and Jennifer Arcuri. This has been denied by Ms Arcuri, an American, who once remarked of the Queen’s first minister that: “If I was banging the dude and there was some kind of, like trail or sex tape, but there’s nothing.”

Mr Johnson maintained that he visited her for “technology lessons”. There is no suggestion that the then mayor, keen cyclist and jogger though he was, availed himself of the pole Ms Arcuri had installed in her flat to practise her dancing; his actions did however give a whole new meaning to Disraeli’s famous phrase “the greasy pole”.

Looking around the world a little, Mr Johnson’s activities, whatever they amounted to, look rather tame. After all, Alex Salmond, former first minister of Scotland was cleared recently of very serious charges of attempted rape, sexual assault and indecent assault. The political repercussions of that may not be over.