Boris Johnson reportedly wrote a letter recommending American businesswoman Jennifer Arcuri for a job as the head of a technology quango when he was mayor of London.
Amid a storm over his association with the former model, leaked emails seen by the Sunday Times showed Mr Johnson was listed as a reference in her application for the role at Tech City.
Ms Arcuri was said to have been a 27-year-old student at the time of applying for the £100,000 a year job.
In an email leaked to the paper, she allegedly later wrote: “I still have the letter of rec from Boris. hahaha. To think that we asked him to write us a recommendation for the CEO of Tech City is just hysterical.”
She listed “Boris Johnson, Mayor of London” as a reference on the application, according to the paper.
The report adds to mounting questions about the Prime Minister’s past links with Ms Arcuri.
Hundreds of leaked emails show Arcuri also put Johnson as reference on her CV She applied for TechCity CEO after being egged on by far right Breitbart contributor Milo Yiannapoulos.
“Emails reveal that Arcuri plotted out a detailed plan to become CEO of Tech City – months after graduating She enlisted the support of staff at London & Partners and even Department of Business. At the heart of her application was her status as a friend of Boris” revealed Sunday Times investigative reporter Gabriel Pogrund.
Former Conservative Attorney General Dominic Grieve, expelled from the party under Boris Johnson for voting to prevent Britain crashing out of the EU with no deal, said the revelations were “astonishing”, especially as Johnson didn’t declare any interest and Arcuri was woefully under qualified.
Last month, Mr Johnson was referred to the police complaints body to assess whether he should face a criminal investigation over his association with the businesswoman.
It follows reports by the same paper that Ms Arcuri was given £126,000 in public money and privileged access to three foreign trade missions led by Mr Johnson while he was mayor.
Boris Johnson risks jail sentence
Boris Johnson may refuse to appear before the London Assembly to explain his failure to disclose his relationship to US businesswoman Jennifer Arcuri who benefitted from large financial grants and foreign tax-payer funded missions with Johnson, the Tory Party chairman has hinted.
James Cleverly said it was the job of Parliament to hold the Prime Minister to account, not the London Assembly.
Members of the Assembly on Tuesday gave the PM a two-week deadline to provide “details and a timeline of all contact with Jennifer Arcuri including social, personal and professional during his period of office as mayor of London”.
Refusing to comply could see the Conservative leader formally summoned by City Hall and in breach of the law.
A three-month prison sentence can be slapped on those who disobey a summons from the Assembly.
“Everything was done with complete propriety”
The Sunday Times revealed that Ms Arcuri, an American who moved to London seven years ago, was given £126,000 in public money and was treated to privileged access to three foreign trade missions led by Johnson while he was mayor of London.
The PM has repeatedly refused to clarify the nature of his relationship with the woman whose Shoreditch home he reportedly used “afternoon breaks in his mayoral diary” to pop over to, while married to second wife Marina Wheeler, mother to four of his five children.