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Calls have been made for Boris Johnson to be stripped of his access to an allowance for former prime ministers over allegations he has profited from contacts he made while in office.
The Guardian published a series of stories based on leaked data provided by a non-profit organisation that suggest Mr Johnson profited from contacts and influence he gained in office.
Mr Johnson is alleged to have lobbied a senior Saudi official he met while in office to share a pitch with crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, and to have been paid more than ￡200,000 after meeting Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro.
Liberal Democrat Cabinet Office spokesperson Sarah Olney MP said: “These allegations are extremely shocking.
“This is yet another reminder of how deep the rot in the Conservative Party goes — it is riddled by sleaze and scandal.
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Johnson pictured with Mohammed bin Salman in 2022(REUTERS)
“The Government must suspend Boris Johnson’s access to the former prime minister public duty cost allowance pending a full and proper investigation.”
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The files also raise questions about whether the company he set up after leaving Downing Street, the Office of Boris Johnson, blurred the lines of how his ex-prime minister’s allowance was used.
It is not supposed to be for private or commercial activities.
The files were obtained by Distributed Denial of Secrets (DDoS), a US-registered non-profit that archives leaked and hacked documents.
They mostly concern the period of time after Mr Johnson’s term as prime minister, from September 2022 and July 2024, along with some documents from when he was in No 10.
The Public Duty Costs Allowance is to help with the costs incurred by former prime ministers who are still active in public life.
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It affords former prime ministers up to ￡115,000 a year to cover office and secretarial costs arising from public duties.
Mr Johnson’s office was contacted for comment.