LONDON, 22 June. - (ANA) - Downing Street’s influence over the media is under scrutiny following the disappearance of a newspaper article claiming Boris Johnson tried to hire his then-mistress Carrie Symonds as his Foreign Office chief of staff back in 2018.

 

The story appeared on page five in the first edition of The Times on Saturday, but was pulled from later editions. Johnson was reported to have tried to secure the £100,000 role for Symonds during his term as foreign secretary – when he was still married to second wife Marina Wheeler – before the plan was vetoed by senior officials.

 

“Here’s the thing,” said The Spectator’s Steerpike, “newspapers might correct political articles but they rarely remove them altogether.”

 

And the row about the pulled article – headlined “Johnson tried to give Carrie top Foreign Office job during affair” – is not the first time that No. 10 has been “accused of trying to kill stories that feature criticism of the PM’s wife”, added the gossip columnist. “Is there a Carrie ‘cover-up’?”

 

Paperwork can prove that Boris Johnson attempted to secure a senior role for his then-girlfriend, Carrie Johnson, at the Foreign Office in 2019, reported The Guardian. 

 

A source who worked with Johnson at the time said the PM – who was the foreign secretary – had repeatedly pressed for Carrie to be chosen for the senior taxpayer-funded job, a fact reflected in internal documentation from the period that could be examined by an inquiry. 

 

Johnson was still married to his second wife, Marina Wheeler, at the time.   - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/22 June 2022 — - -