Alastair Campbell has led calls for charges against Boris Johnson after the former prime minister became embroiled in yet another political scandal.
In news that threatens to further tarnish the ex-PM’s reputation, the Financial Times has today revealed details of how Sam Blyth appeared on a list of candidates to run the British council just weeks after he offered to guarantee an £800,000 loan facility for the PM.
The multimillionaire Canadian businessman, who is Johnson’s distant cousin, appeared on a confidential list of four candidates recommended by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office to be head of the organisation.
The £250,000-a-year role oversees the body responsible for cultural and educational programmes outside the UK, and is a highly sought after position.
But emails seen by the FT have cast doubt over how the recruitment process is run.
Details revealed through freedom of information requests show that special advisers and ministers within the FCDO, including one of Johnson’s closest ministerial allies, Nigel Adams, became heavily involved in the process.
Adams put forward names that the government wanted considered for the role and was also set to join the recruitment panel for the position in December 2020.
He has denied any wrongdoing.
Blyth told The Sunday Times in January that he had been approached “unsolicited” to apply for the position, adding: “I believe my name may have been suggested by civil servants who were trying to identify potential candidates at the search stage of the appointment process.”
The emails obtained by the FT were heavily redacted with many of the names blanked out, which the FCDO said was due to privacy laws. But they show Adams’ involvement in the process, and expose an uncanny link with the money received by Johnson that was backed by the Canadian.
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