Published: July 21st 2010 - at 12:30 pm

More Boris ‘cronyism’ over alleged lover


by Sunny Hundal    

The Evening Standard reports today:

Boris Johnson came under pressure today to reveal the full details of the appointment of his alleged lover to an official fundraising role.

The Mayor asked art consultant Helen Macintyre to act as an unpaid fundraiser for his Olympic Park sculpture project last spring.

However, her appointment was never made public nor did a Greater London Authority appointments process take place.

Critics called on Mr Johnson to honour his pledge to end cronyism at City Hall and to reveal the circumstances surrounding her appointment.

This would be the second major incident of Boris being accused of cronyism.

The first was when he decided to recommend Veronica Wadley, previous editor of the Evening Standard, as chair of the London Arts Council.

This is despite her admitting, “I am no arts expert”.

Dave Hill wrote this about it:

The most jaw-dropped aspect of the amazing Wadley saga has been the sheer brazenness involved. Imagine: the majority of an interview panel think you fall short of the mark for the job you’ve applied for, yet somehow you get picked for that job anyway thanks a powerful person you’ve helped out in the past.

Most of us would feel embarrassed by such a situation.

Yet Boris wasn’t embarrassed at all. And this time around too, he’ll probably try and brush it off because the media will give him an easy ride.


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About the author
Sunny Hundal is editor of LC. Also: on Twitter, at Pickled Politics and Guardian CIF.
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Reader comments


1. Flowerpower

FFS she was UNPAID. Since when did you have to go through a Nolan rules appointments process to do someone a favour?

I’m sure coservative home will get right on it……..Oh wait.

I was rather taken by this recent headline in the Mail:

‘Is Boris the father? It’s quite likely he hasn’t the faintest idea’

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1295125/London-mayor-Boris-Johnson-embroiled-paternity-riddle.html#ixzz0uM7mLDbR

Roll on family values.

4. Rhys Williams

FFS she was UNPAID. Since when did you have to go through a Nolan rules appointments process to do someone a favour?
Pretty obvious, in the political world there is always a payback.
Cameron didn’t pay Murdoch for his support. Murdoch will get his payback.

Nice one Boris!

How Marvellous! All men who work in City of London have a mistress or two for complementary therapy.I say…cheaper than ‘Ladies of Night’! I found my wives problematic to say the less. It’s a bit like fox hunting!

Boris my good chap, I love the ‘New Conservative Blue Cycle Lanes’, but I still ride to work on horseback to avoid the London Congestion Charge, and to keep my testicles at the right temperature. The old cycle and standing on the ‘Tube’ warms up my testicles like one of my wife’s ‘Sunday Dinner.’

It would be wonderful and an honour to see Boris appointed as the Speaker of the House of Commons. I’m going to start campaigning to see Boris up in the Speaker’s chair!

I have great confidences in David Cameron PM, Boris Johnson and the Queen!!!

Is it legal for me and my man-servant to ride my horse on the ‘New Conservative Blue Cycle Lanes’?

Kind Regards,

Reginald.

6. margin4error

I do wonder about the utter idiocy of people having affairs and not using contraception.

I mean Boris is in charge of a city of 8million people. He is well (and expensively) educated. So how is he incapable of making simple decisions not to knock up whichever women he’s bedding lately?

I mean seriously, most of us manage to go our entirely single lives neither getting pregnant nor getting some one pregnant – and we go thorugh our married lives only having kids by our spouces.

The calous nature of it blows my mind. I mean this is a human child created out of lazyness, arogance or a simple view that creating a life isn’t that big a deal and doesn’t make much difference compared to the fun of scrwing around.

And to think that this man is spoken of as a potential future Conservative Party leader.

8. Rhys Williams

Not now.
cameron will certainly win another term of office.
Sorry Libs not with you.
I hate to say this but Nick Cohen is right you will become irrelevant. Most will just vote Tory and few disillusioned ones will vote for Miliband’s Labour.
As for the next Tory leader.
Gove : Too Scottish and he scowls
Osbourne : Even Tories want to slap him.
Probably one of Cameron’s babes.


Reactions: Twitter, blogs
  1. Liberal Conspiracy

    More accusations of cronyism at Boris over alleged lover http://bit.ly/d6qv9x

  2. ANN LANGLEY

    RT @libcon: More accusations of cronyism at Boris over alleged lover http://bit.ly/d6qv9x





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