Carrie Johnson and the curious case of the vanishing Times story

[dutchman]

Report had claimed Boris Johnson tried to hire his now wife as chief of staff when foreign secretary, but then it was deleted



At first glance, the story appeared to be the political scoop of the weekend.

On Saturday, the Times reported claims that Boris Johnson had tried to hire his now wife as his chief of staff when he was foreign secretary.

But almost as soon as the article hit the printers, it was withdrawn, without explanation or clarification.

The piece, written by the veteran lobby journalist Simon Walters, formerly of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday, appeared on page five of some early print copies of Saturday’s Times newspaper but was dropped for later editions.

It does not appear that the article was ever published on the Times’ website.

The story expanded on claims in a biography of Carrie Johnson by the Tory donor and peer Lord Ashcroft that Johnson had tried to appoint her to a £100,000-a-year government job when he was foreign secretary in 2018.

It said the idea had fallen apart when his closest advisers learned of the idea to hire the Tory press chief, then known as Carrie Symonds, whom he later married. Johnson was then still married to Marina Wheeler, a barrister.

A source with knowledge of the situation told the Guardian this account was correct.

However, a spokesperson for Carrie Johnson was categoric. “These claims are totally untrue,” she said.

Downing Street declined to give an on-the-record response to the story but a No 10 source also said the story was untrue – and suggested it was sexist.

“This is a grubby, discredited story turned down by most reputable media outlets because it isn’t true. The facts speak for themselves.”

Walters told the Guardian: “I stand by the story. I went to all the relevant people over two days. Nobody offered me an on-the-record denial and Downing St didn’t deny it off the record either.”

Journalists at the Times were baffled by the decision to withdraw Saturday’s story, with multiple sources suggesting there had been a high-level intervention to remove it.

The paper’s editor, John Witherow, is reported to be off work. His deputy Tony Gallagher edited the newspaper on Friday, with multiple sources saying he made the call to drop the story from later editions.

A spokesperson for News UK declined to comment on why an article that appeared prominently in potentially hundreds of thousands of print newspapers had been removed from later editions, without any explanation.

Walters recently left his senior position at the Daily Mail, where he first revealed the scandal over Carrie Johnson’s renovations of the Downing Street flat.

MailOnline rewrote the Times’ story about the proposed government job for Carrie Johnson in the early hours of Saturday morning but has since also deleted its article without explanation or an editor’s note. News aggregation sites have also deleted their copies of the MailOnline article.

Alastair Campbell, the former No 10 director of communications under Tony Blair, tweeted on Sunday that the disappearance of the story appeared to be “further evidence that much of our media is essentially an extension of the press office of a liar and a crook”.

[rebbonk]

Downing Street declined to give an on-the-record response...

Because they fear being dragged into yet more of Johnson's dirty dealings. The sooner he's gone, the better.

[rebbonk]

The story has been removed from most sources, including news aggregator sites. However...

[rebbonk]

Boris and Carrie Johnson Forced the Media to Memory Hole an Article About Their Latest Scandal. Now, It’s Trending, And It May Bring His Government Down.

This may be the scandal to bring Boris Johnson's government down.

The wife of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Carrie (neé Symonds), faces further scandal after allegedly demanding negative press stories about her and her husband were removed from British newspapers and their websites. The news comes at one of the worst periods for Johnson’s government, with immigration soaring and a recent “no confidence” vote in the Prime Minister which yielded a worse result than his deposed predecessor Theresa May.

On Saturday morning, The Times of London ran with a bombshell scoop by veteran reporter Simon Walters, entitled “Johnson tried to give Carrie top Foreign Office job during affair”.

The story alleged that during their extra-marital, undisputed affair, Boris Johnson (then Foreign Secretary) attempted to give his lover, Carrie, a six-figure job in the same Foreign and Commonwealth Office that he ran, the U.S. equivalent of the State Department. The ‘Chief of Staff’ role would have come with significant access to sensitive government information, as well as the ability to set policy at a high-level. The move was vetoed by staff who were aware of the pair’s affair, and how it might compromise one of the most senior diplomats in the United Kingdom as a result, Walters alleged in his article.

But within hours the article had been removed from The Times, the Daily Mail, and MSN.com amongst others. Even the secondary print edition of The Times had replaced the story with a pro-government article about immigration policy.

Strangely still, neither papers issued corrections, retractions, notes from editors, or otherwise explanations about what had happened. The story just disappeared from the press, all at once – in an unprecedented fashion.

Former Times reporter David Hewson noted on Twitter: “As someone who reporting for the Times got things wrong once or twice let me tell you what happens. We publish a correction. We don’t pretend the original story never happened. And the idea of deleting it entirely from the public record. Well…”

Carrie – a friend and fan of the Biden family, who also worked at a Clinton Foundation think tank – is well known for cajoling close friends in the press for positive coverage. But veteran reporter Simon Walters told The New European newspaper that he “stand[s] by the story 100 per cent,” adding: "I was in lengthy and detailed communication with No 10 [The Prime Minister’s Office] at a high level, Ben Gascoigne and Mrs Johnson’s spokeswoman for up to 48 hours before the paper went to press. At no point did any of them offer an on-the-record denial of any element of the story.”

Walters concluded: “Nor have any of these three offered an on-the-record denial to me since. No 10 and Mr Gascoigne did not deny it off-the-record either.”

But the Johnsons’s attempts to keep yet another scandal about their relationship off newspaper pages appears to have backfired.

By Sunday evening, UK time, the phrases #carriejohnson and ‘The Times’ were both trending online, eliciting far more views that those who would’ve seen the story on page five of The Times‘ Saturday newspaper.

With the Conservative Party around seven points behind the Labour Party in averaged national polling, and a recent no-confidence vote in the Prime Minister going worse than Boris Johnson had hoped, this latest “Carrie Antoinette” scandal could well bring the current British government down.

The National Pulse first reported on the scandal-ridden Symonds and her impending impact on British politics in February 2021. The British press caught up some six months later.

Source: https://thenationalpulse.com/2022/06/19/boris-and-carrie-johnson-forced-the-media-to-memory-hole-an-article-about-their-latest-scandal-now-its-trending-and-it-may-bring-his-government-down/

There are plenty of rather interesting stories circulating about the former Ms Symonds if anyone cares to look. This story is the tip of a very large iceberg! Hopefully, the iceberg will hole the muppet PM and he (along with his odious wife) will sink without further trace.

[rebbonk]

This story has legs! More twisting and lying centred around a PM who finds it impossible to lie straight in bed!

No 10 spoke to Times before Carrie Johnson story pulled, Downing Street admits
The Times dropped a story claiming Boris Johnson tried to hire his now wife as his chief of staff when he was Foreign Secretary.

Downing Street has admitted there were conversations between Number 10 and The Times, after the newspaper dropped a report that claimed Boris Johnson tried to appoint his now wife to a Government role when he was Foreign Secretary.

According to the story in The Times on Saturday, Mr Johnson attempted to hire Carrie Johnson as his chief of staff at the Foreign Office in 2018.

The report was pulled from later editions of the paper, sparking questions over whether No 10 applied political pressure on its editors.

The Prime Minister’s spokesperson on Monday acknowledged there had been contact between Downing Street and The Times before and after the story was published.

Asked whether there were conversations after its initial publication specifically, the spokesperson told reporters: “That’s my understanding”.

He refused to say “who spoke to who”, but denied that it was Mr Johnson himself.

“I’ve checked and I’ve been assured that he hasn’t spoken to anyone,” he said.

“I’m not aware of any calls by the PM.”

The spokesperson added that “it is entirely a matter for publications, for journalists to decide on what they write”.

On the allegations originally reported by The Times, he did not directly refute them but pointed to earlier denials by a spokesperson for Mrs Johnson, who said: “These claims are totally untrue.”

Mr Johnson’s spokesperson told journalists: “As a function of my role, I don’t comment on what the Prime Minister did before he was Prime Minister.

“I think my political colleagues have over the weekend made clear that the story’s not true as has Mrs Johnson’s spokesperson.

“I’m pointing to the on-the-record denials that have been made over the weekend”.

The spokesperson added that Mr Johnson “believes in hiring the right people for the right roles”.

The author of The Times’ story, veteran journalist Simon Walters, said he stood by the story “100%”.

“I was in lengthy and detailed communication with No 10 at a high level, Ben Gascoigne and Mrs Johnson’s spokeswoman for up to 48 hours before the paper went to press. At no point did any of them offer an on-the-record denial of any element of the story,” he told The New European.

“Nor have any of these three offered an on-the-record denial to me since. No 10 and Mr Gascoigne did not deny it off-the-record either.”

The Prime Minister’s former chief aide Dominic Cummings has supported the claims and alleged Mr Johnson also wanted to appoint his wife to a Government job in late 2020.

Mr Cummings tweeted: “The ‘missing story’ (pulled by Times after no10 call Fri night) is true. Walters repeatedly published accurate stories, e.g on illegal donations. Times pathetic to have folded & shd reverse ferret. Truth is worse! (Johnson) wanted to appoint girlfriend to gvt job in Q3 2020 too”.

Asked whether Mr Johnson attempted to give her a Government job while he was in Downing Street, his spokesperson said: “Again my understanding is that claim is also untrue but these claims have been reported before and denied”.

Source: https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/boris-johnson-carrie-johnson-downing-street-dominic-cummings-foreign-office-b1007213.html

[dutchman]

Top civil servant Simon Case discussed charity roles for Carrie Johnson



The UK's top civil servant has admitted having an "informal conversation" about potential roles for the PM's wife with a royal charity, after being prompted by a former Downing Street colleague.

But Simon Case said he had not recommended that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's Royal Foundation give Carrie Johnson a position.

There had been "no improper conduct" on his part, he added.

However, Labour said the PM had "serious questions" to answer.

In her letter asking Mr Case what had happened, the party's deputy leader, Angela Rayner, said Boris Johnson had to address claims of "impropriety and conflict of interest".

On Wednesday, during Prime Minister's Questions, Mr Johnson did not deny reports he had spoken to aides about a government post.

It has been reported that, while foreign secretary in 2018, Mr Johnson tried to hire his future wife, with whom he was already in a relationship, as his £100,000-a-year chief of staff.

In her letter to Mr Case, the cabinet secretary, Ms Rayner wrote: "There are now serious questions for the prime minister to answer about potentially impropriety and conflict of interest in his lobbying for a high-paying tax-funded job for his partner in 2018, Carrie Johnson."

This and the other reports raised "serious questions about sleaze and corruption" in Downing Street, she added.

"It is clearly inappropriate that the prime minister should be the judge and jury in his own case, so I ask you to confirm that this matter will be subject to an independent probe and fully investigated," Ms Rayner also wrote.

In response, Mr Case wrote: "I did not recommend Mrs Johnson for any role.

"In autumn 2020 a former member of the No 10 team asked about opportunities for Mrs Johnson with environmental charities.

"I was happy to have an informal conversation with someone involved with the [Royal Foundation's] Earthshot Prize about what roles were available, as I would have done for anyone with relevant experience who was keen to get involved with charity work."

[rebbonk]

Mystery MP who walked in on Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds in ‘compromising situation’ revealed

Exclusive: Conor Burns had a ‘sixth sense’ about the couple’s relationship after finding them ‘having a glass of wine’ in Boris Johnson’s office

The mystery MP who walked in on Boris Johnson and then-girlfriend Carrie Symonds in an allegedly ‘compromising situation’ when he was foreign secretary is Northern Ireland minister Conor Burns, The Independent can reveal.

Downing Street said that Burns “flagged up” the couple’s relationship to Foreign Office officials after finding them “having a glass of wine together” alone in Mr Johnson’s Commons office as foreign secretary in 2018.

Mr Burns, one of Mr Johnson’s most loyal supporters, had a “sixth sense” that their relationship was “one to watch”, said a senior No 10 source.

Mr Burns raised the matter with Mr Johnson’s close aide Ben Gascoigne, who worked for him at the Foreign Office and is now No 10 deputy chief of staff.

It has previously been reported that in turn, Mr Gascoigne alerted Mr Johnson’s Foreign Office private office.

On discovering Mr Johnson’s relationship with Carrie (then Carrie Symonds) as a result of Mr Burns walking in on them, Mr Gascoigne and other members of Mr Johnson’s Foreign Office team threatened to resign if Mr Johnson went ahead with a plan to appoint her as his £100,000-a-year Foreign Office chief of staff.

The Independent has also been told by other sources that Mr Johnson’s team discussed the possible risk to him of blackmail – or kompromat – as foreign secretary if any of Britain’s enemies learned he was having an affair.

In the event, they decided not to confront him over his relationship with Ms Symonds but successfully blocked his attempt to make her his chief of staff without informing him that it was linked to their belief, based on what Mr Burns had seen, that they were in a relationship.

The claim that Mr Johnson and Ms Symonds were found in a ‘compromising situation’ was first made in a little-noticed section of a biography of Carrie Johnson by Tory Lord Ashcroft earlier this year.

When the story resurfaced in The Times earlier this month it led to a political row when the paper dropped the story from later editions after No 10 intervened.

Amid wild speculation in the last few days over the nature of the alleged “compromising situation” and the identity of those said to have known about it, Downing Street has given its own version of events for the first time in a bid to close down the controversy.

The senior No 10 source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Independent that Mr Burns, at the time Mr Johnson’s parliamentary private secretary – a minister’s metaphorical “eyes and ears” – stumbled across him and Ms Symonds alone in the Commons:

“Conor did walk in on them. He saw two people sitting having a glass of wine whereby (one) may have concluded where the relationship was heading. He did not interrupt anything. It was a case of “why are they having a drink?” and “let’s have a word with Ben (Gascoigne)”.

“That is why he (Conor) thought it was something he needed to flag up. It was about a sixth sense that this was one to watch. The door was not locked. He didn’t barge in. He walked into where they had had a meeting earlier and they were still chatting.”

Mr Johnson and Ms Symonds’ relationship became public later in 2018 after his separation from second wife Marina was announced.

At the height of the “partygate” scandal, Mr Burns led the defence of Mr Johnson for attending a No 10 birthday party in his honour, which led to him being fined for breaking Covid lockdown laws. The MP played down the matter saying the prime minister had been “ambushed with cake.”

Mr Burns, 49, was appointed a trade minister when Mr Johnson succeeded Theresa May in July 2019. He had to resign from the post in 2020 and was suspended as an MP for a week after a parliamentary inquiry found he had made “veiled threats” to use privilege to “further his family’s interests” in a financial dispute involving his father.

He was given a second chance in September last year when Mr Johnson appointed him Northern Ireland minister.

Mr Burns declined to comment.

Source: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/boris-johnson-carrie-conor-burns-b2113988.html

[dutchman]

BoJo needs to keep the war in Ukraine going as long as possible to distract everyone's attention.

[rebbonk]

Oh dear, this one isn't going to go away.

Boris Johnson having sex in the office: a case of misconduct in public office?
Will the sex-in-the-office revelations be added to the Met Police's investigation caseload, or is this one for the parliamentary standards commissioner?



Article updated 02.07.22 to add the information about the MP who allegedly burst in on Boris Johnson and his then-girlfriend Carrie Symonds.

On 29 June, Private Eye published a report that concerned allegations that Boris Johnson was caught having oral sex with Carrie Symonds (as she was then) in his office when he was foreign secretary in 2018. Private Eye maintains in the article that the removal of the report of Johnson seeking to employ Symonds as his chief of staff from the Times newspaper was because Symonds was concerned that the more salacious details of her relationship with Johnson would be revealed.

“The Friday night attack of the ab-dabs was caused by a baseless fear that the Times might be more specific about the compromising situation [those of a timid disposition should look away now] by adding that the MP walked in while Carrie was giving Boris oral sex on the sofa.”

The MP in question Conor Burns, or so he claims. He says he burst in on them having a glass of wine and nothing more. So we’re far from knowing the truth about this affair. Let’s assume that the original story is true – what would be the implications?

In most workplaces, being caught having sex while on duty would result in instant dismissal, but Johnson’s government seems to be untouched by the employment norms and standards that apply to everyone else and there is nothing in the ministerial code that debars him from pursuing his sexual proclivities in the workplace. However, it may constitute misconduct in public office.



Sexually inappropriate behaviour leading to “misjudgement”

Misconduct in public office is a common law offence (it is not enshrined in law) and so its breach is often determined by precedent. Having sex in the office does not necessarily constitute misconduct but may do so under certain circumstances. It may constitute a breach if there is a power differential and the person providing sex is dependent on the decision of the person holding public office, or the person providing sex is in a vulnerable position, such as the victim of crime.

There are two categories which may be relevant in Johnson’s case. The first is, if the (consensual) sex “renders the public office holder vulnerable to misjudgement”. Case law indicates that this has mainly been applied when there is a relationship between a public officer and a ‘client’ such as between a prison officer and prisoner that has implications for good order and discipline of the prisoner and rest of the prison or wing population.

As Symonds was not made Johnson’s chief of staff this may not be applicable, but the very fact of him asking for preferment may be indicative of the relationship leading to a “misjudgement”. Employing Symonds, in any capacity given the relationship, would have been explicitly barred in the ministerial code (even in Johnson’s new watered-down code) and there is no doubt that, had she been made his chief of staff, good order and discipline within the foreign office may have been under threat.

Sex on duty

The other relevant category is when the sex occurs while the public official is “on duty … the concern is the dereliction of duty/unprofessionalism that attends the conduct, and that it could be seen to undermine public trust in the office holder. For example, a government security officer engaging in sexual conduct while they are meant to be providing security to a secure government building”.

Johnson’s behaviour occurred in his office when he was foreign minister. He was interrupted by a colleague wishing to discuss work with him. He could have easily been interrupted by any number of other foreign office officials or government staff.

The response of those unwillingly being exposed, in their place of work, to Johnson having sex would vary according to their position and power, and their relationship with Johnson. They might use the incident as ‘kompromat’. It might undermine the trust in the working relationship, or, for more junior and female staff members, it might be experienced as a form of sexual harassment.

Maybe this is something else the Metropolitan Police can add to their Westminster investigation caseload, or perhaps it’s one for the parliamentary standards commissioner. Let’s hope for their sake there’s no photographic evidence.

Source: https://yorkshirebylines.co.uk/news/home-affairs/boris-johnson-having-sex-in-the-office-a-case-of-misconduct-in-public-office/

[rebbonk]

There are some very serious stories doing the rounds about this type of thing leaving him open to blackmail...