Johnson and the Tory party seem unable to escape the taint of Russian money with the BBC no less now reporting an $8 million transaction flagged as suspicious by a bank just two months before the referendum. The husband of Lubov Chernukhin, who has given £1.7m to the Tories, received $8m from a Russian politician, Suleyman Kerimov, facing US sanctions due to his closeness to the Kremlin. This was in April 2016. It's the lead story on the BBC news website this morning.
At the same time, an amazing story is coming out of Italy claiming that Johnson spent the weekend before last in Perugia with his Russian friend Evgeny Lebedev at his Italian castle. This is the man he nominated for a peerage. The story comes from a report in La Repubblica where sources said, “Johnson landed in Perugia on Friday 11 September at 2 pm and left on Monday morning”
This would be amazing anyway but it is even more amazing when, if it's true, Johnson's zoom meeting with Tory MPs must have taken place while he was in Italy!
John Sweeny tweeted:
John Sweeny tweeted:
#PanicDiary 20 Sept. Was Boris in Perugia last weekend at the Palazzo Terranova, the home of @mrevgenylebedev, son of an ex-KGB Colonel? Number Ten deny: "this claim is wrong". But that phrase is odd.— John Sweeney (@johnsweeneyroar) September 20, 2020
Watch my little film and watch this space... https://t.co/c44UtIQZLn pic.twitter.com/A3l1fYluwN
I used to work for an Italian company less than five miles from Perugia airport so I know it very well. It was a former military aerodrome converted to civil use and renovated around 2010. Ryanair have regular flights from Stansted and it has grown a lot. This isn't surprising because Umbria is one of Italy's hidden gems and nearby Assissi is well worth visiting.
Apparently Luis Suarez passed through the airport earlier last week and the tiny airport must have seen an opportunity for a bit of self promotion. They released a short statement to the press:
"On the afternoon of Thursday September 17th, a famous Uruguayan Barcelona footballer, Luis Suarez, arrived in Perugia, welcomed by cheering fans and supporters, to take an Italian exam in order to obtain the Italian passport. Immediately afterwards, the international airport of Perugia issued a proud statement: "Over the past few days, many names and personalities from the political, sporting and economic world have arrived here in Perugia. From Prada CEO Patrizio Bertelli to the British PM Boris Johnson, preceded by Tony Blair (former UK premier) and not least the champion footballer Luis Suarez from Barcelona, who landed this afternoon to take an Italian language exam at the University for Foreigners of Perugia. Umbria and our airport are at the center of the world at this end of the season, with more and more personalities choosing the "San Francesco d’Assisi" airport thanks to its strategic position in the center of Italy, the speed of connection and the always punctual and efficient service that the airport is able to guarantee”.
Downing Street said the claim was "wrong" without saying how it was wrong. It was a non-denial denial. I really cannot see why a small Italian airport would lie about Johnson visiting Italy. His spokesman is saying Johnson and Carrier were baptising their son on Saturday at Westminster abbey and could not have visited Italy. The fact they are pushing back hard suggests it might be embarrassing. If evidence turns up that he was in Italy then he is in big trouble.
His Zoom call with 256 Tory MPs was designed to reassure them about the UK Internal Market bill which had caused a stir in Westminster a couple of days before. The internet line was unstable and cut out altogether for about 20 minutes.
His Zoom call with 256 Tory MPs was designed to reassure them about the UK Internal Market bill which had caused a stir in Westminster a couple of days before. The internet line was unstable and cut out altogether for about 20 minutes.
I don't usually comment on total speculation but someone on Twitter claimed to have access via a friend to 'journalists' who say that Carrie Symonds has left Downing Street and is living with her parents because Johnson is having an affair. Now, this comes with a health warning and I have absolutely no idea if it's true or not but it would fit with the latest story from Italy as well as the PMs predilection for infidelity and reckless behaviour so I wouldn't discount it entirely.
This morning the Chief Medical Office and the Chief Scientific Officer are to give a press conference at 11:00 am. They are expected to issue a warning about the coronavirus numbers rising again and possibly paving the way for a second national lockdown.
It is Britain's tragedy to be saddled with a charlatan like Johnson during the greatest crisis in my lifetime. God help us all.
