Boris
Johnson pictured at San Francesco d’Assisi airport in April 2018
Boris Johnson pictured at San Francesco d’Assisi airport in April 2018 following a weekend away at the home of the media owner Evgeny Lebedev. Fellow passengers described the then foreign secretary as looking ‘like he slept in his clothes’
No 10 denies reports Boris Johnson went on secret
Italy trip
Minister also rejects airport’s statement PM flew into
Perugia in past fortnight
Peter
Walker Political correspondent
@peterwalker99
Mon 21 Sep
2020 08.51 BSTLast modified on Mon 21 Sep 2020 08.59 BST
One of
Boris Johnson’s ministers has denied a report in the Italian media that the UK
prime minister made a secret trip to the country less than a fortnight ago, a
claim Downing Street has also rejected as “completely untrue”.
Asked if
Johnson had landed in Perugia in the past two weeks, which the Umbrian airport
said had happened in a statement, Grant Shapps, the transport minister, told
Sky News: “Not that I’m aware of. I think it’s mistaken, as far as I’m aware.”
The Italian
newspaper La Repubblica reported on the alleged trip after the Barcelona
footballer Luis Suárez flew into Perugia on 17 September. The airport put out a
press release saying that as well as Suárez, Johnson had also arrived there in
recent days.
La
Repubblica said that after it made inquiries about the Johnson trip, the
airport, San Francesco d’Assisi, confirmed he had landed there during the week
before Suárez.
The
newspaper cited one airport staff member as saying the British PM arrived
either on 11 September, a Friday, or the day before. Another source said he had
arrived “on Friday 11 September at 2pm and left on Monday 14 September 14th at
7.45am”.
A Downing
Street spokesman said: “This story is completely untrue. The prime minister has
not travelled to Italy in recent months. Anyone who publishes these claims is
repeating a falsehood.”
The claim
of Johnson making a seemingly undercover visit to Perugia would be seen as
especially intriguing given he has done it before. In April 2018, while he was
foreign secretary, Johnson was photographed looking somewhat dishevelled at San
Francesco d’Assisi airport.
It emerged
that Johnson had stayed at Palazzo Terranova, a restored castle owned by the
media billionaire and socialite Evgeny Lebedev, who is renowned for holding
lavish parties.
The
pictures of Johnson at the airport suggested he went to Italy without a police
escort. According to another passenger on the flight back to the UK, Johnson
was on his own, apparently without any luggage and very much the worse for
wear.
This article is more than 1 year old
Morning after: Boris Johnson recovers from
Lebedev’s exotic Italian party
Fellow
passengers at San Francesco d’Assisi airport described the then foreign
secretary as looking ‘like he slept in his clothes’.
Exclusive: New prime minister refuses to say if he
abandoned security for 2018 night in billionaire’s castle
Nick
Hopkins
Fri 26 Jul
2019 12.00 BSTLast modified on Wed 31 Jul 2019 18.06 BST
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jul/26/boris-johnson-security-evgeny-lebedev-perugia-party
A trip
Boris Johnson made to Italy for a party held by a billionaire socialite ended
with the then foreign secretary at an airport “looking like he had slept in his
clothes”, struggling to walk in a straight line and telling other passengers he
had had a heavy night, the Guardian has been told.
Pictures of
the now prime minister along with an account from a fellow traveller shed
further light on Johnson’s weekend away at the home of the media owner Evgeny
Lebedev, who is known for hosting uproarious parties for the rich and famous at
his converted castle near Perugia.
Johnson has
refused to answer questions about the visit in April last year, including
whether he flew to Italy against the advice of his officials and without the
24/7 security detail usually assigned to the foreign secretary.
The
pictures, taken at San Francesco d’Assisi airport on Sunday 29 April 2018,
suggest he did go to Italy without a police escort. According to another
passenger on the flight back to the UK, Johnson was on his own, seemingly
without any luggage and very much the worse for wear.
The
passenger, who asked to remain anonymous, said he was standing in the queue to
go through security when he realised the scruffy man “shuffling along” in front
of him was Johnson, who was clutching a thick book about war strategy.
“It was a
surprise to see him. There was nobody with him and he didn’t appear to have any
luggage,” said the source. “He was such a mess. He was quite dishevelled and
his trousers were twisted and creased. He looked like he had slept in his
clothes.”
Johnson was
recognised by other British and Italian travellers, some of whom asked for
selfies, before he retreated into a corner of the departure lounge to snooze.
The UK’s
most senior diplomat was later overheard telling another passenger that he had
had “a heavy night” and that he had been visiting friends.
When the
passengers were called to the gate before getting on the flight, Johnson is
said to have seemed a little off balance.
“When he
was walking out to the plane, he did this curved walk. I really thought he was
going to be sick on the tarmac,” said the source. After landing in the UK,
Johnson was picked up straight off the plane by a waiting police car.
Johnson
went to Palazzo Terranova in Perugia last year at the invitation of Lebedev,
the owner of the London Evening Standard and the Independent.
In a brief
entry of ministerial interests on the Foreign Office website, Johnson declared
he had an “overnight stay” with Lebedev on 28 April, travelling “accompanied by
a spouse, family member or friend”.
Johnson did
not give any further details of where he had been, who he was with or the
reason for the visit – reportedly his fourth to Lebedev’s Italian home in
recent years.
Lebedev’s
office also declined to give details about the weekend or about another trip
Johnson is reported to have made to the castle, in October 2016. On that
occasion the party is said to have been attended by the celebrity Katie Price
and the actor Joan Collins, among others.
Johnson
chose to travel to Italy last year at time when he was under great scrutiny.
The day before flying out he had been in Brussels for talks with the US
secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, and other Nato leaders to discuss how to deal
with Russia in the aftermath of the nerve agent poisonings in Salisbury.
Lebedev,
40, was also in the spotlight at the time, having sold a 30% holding in his
newspapers to an investor with strong links to Saudi Arabia. The then culture
secretary, Jeremy Wright, ordered the competition and media regulator to
investigate the sale.
In court on
Tuesday, Lebedev’s lawyers launched a legal fight to stop the government
investigation, arguing that it waited too long and missed the deadline to
intervene.
In
response, the government said its decision was delayed, in part, because both
Lebedev and the Saudi investors refused to provide key information. But the
tribunal chair noted that Lebedev had provided answers, though there was some
delay “ because of having to get information from Saudi Arabia”
David
Scannell, the government’s legal representative, said the Saudi Arabian
government could potentially exert editorial influence over the news outlets
and claimed that the sale of the shares had “public interest considerations”.
The hearing
was told the 30% stake in the Evening Standard and Independent had been bought
in a series of “unconventional, complex, and clandestine” deals fronted by a
Saudi businessman, Sultan Mohamed Abuljadayel.
The
tribunal was told the Standard and the Independent were unsure who ultimately
employs the businessman.
The
Guardian contacted Johnson’s spokesman, but he declined to comment.
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