Parliament questions grant to company run by Boris Johnson’s friend

Phone calls to ‘UK-based’ company answered in California, senior MP says

New questions were being asked about grants awarded to a company run by a female friend of Boris Johnson, after a senior MP revealed that calls to its UK phone number are being redirected to the USA.

Culture minister Matt Warman told the House of Commons that the number formed part of the proof of Hacker House’s eligibility for a £100,000 government grant available only to UK-based companies, which is now the subject of a review by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sports.

But Labour’s shadow culture secretary Tom Watson revealed that his office had called the number supplied and found that it was answered in California.

A Watson aide told The Independent that the call was answered by a woman who did not identify herself but said she was from Hacker House and was in the US state. A LinkedIn profile for Hacker House, which is operated by tech entrepreneur and former model Jennifer Arcuri, states that its primary location is Los Angeles, while listing a second address in Shoreditch, east London.

Mr Warman was subjected to a half-hour grilling in the House of Commons about revelations in the Sunday Times that companies linked to Ms Arcuri had been awarded public funds totalling £126,000 and she had received privileged access to trade visits with Mr Johnson when he was mayor of London.

Labour MP Wes Streeting said that the PM should face a police investigation if he failed to co-operate with an inquiry by the Greater London Assembly, which has given him two weeks to explain his links with Ms Arcuri.

Mr Warman replied: “The reality is, of course, the review will go wherever it needs to go.

“And I have no indication whatsoever that anybody is not going to co-operate with that, be it the prime minister or anyone else.”

Mr Johnson has refused to answer reporters’ questions about whether he had an intimate relationship with Ms Arcuri, but insisted that funds handed out by City Hall while he was mayor were awarded with “utter propriety”.

Associates of the businesswoman dismissed any suggestion of an improper relationship, with her family reportedly telling friends: “He sponsored her. He didn’t screw her.”

In an urgent question on the first day of the Commons’ return from prorogation, Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran told Mr Warman that it was now known that Hacker House was not based in the UK, and that the Cheshire address given in its application for funding under the Cyber Skills Immediate Impact Fund was a property where American-born Ms Arcuri had lived before returning to the US in 2018.

She said the company had been given “preferential treatment” and demanded to know whether Mr Johnson had made any representations recommending Hacker House for an award under the fund, which is designed to nurture homegrown talent in the field of cybersecurity.

Boris Johnson has refused to answer reporters’ questions about whether he had an intimate relationship with Ms Arcuri (Rex)

Mr Warman insisted that the prime minister and his staff “have had absolutely no role in the award of this grant”, and warned Ms Moran that she should “think very carefully” before spreading “tittle-tattle” about Ms Arcuri, who became friends with Mr Johnson – 21 years her senior – when he was mayor.

The £100,000 award was made in February this year by officials from DCMS, the Department for Eduction, TechUK and the National Cyber Security Centre, he said. Some £47,000 of the money has so far been handed over.

“This is a company that is based in Britain, as far as Companies House is concerned,” said Mr Warman. “It is a company with a British phone number.

“We will review that, but we have no reason to think that there is anything untoward in this particular matter.”

But Mr Watson told him it was “very difficult” to see how the firm fulfilled the criteria for the grants.

He added: “This is fundamentally a question of character and of suitability. Is the prime minister of sufficient character to occupy high office and disburse public funds, is he suitable?

“Does he understand that the trappings and privileges of power come with restrictions and restraints? Is he capable of restraining himself?

“The truth is that our prime minister does reckless things. He is a man whose character renders him unsuitable and unfit for the office he holds.

“I want answers to these questions but we all know the broader essential truth, we can all see who Boris Johnson is.”