UK PM Johnson denies favours for US businesswoman

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he has "no interest to declare" in his links to an American businesswoman who allegedly received favourable treatment because of their friendship during his time as mayor of London. Johnson was asked during a BBC interview on Sunday about his ties to Jennifer Arcuri after the Greater London Authority on Friday announced it was referring a "conduct matter" involving Johnson to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

The case arose from a Sunday Times report saying Arcuri was given money and privileged access while on trade missions that Johnson led as mayor of London. Johnson says "everything was done with full propriety."

The independent office, which oversees police complaints in England, was asked to consider if there were grounds to investigate him for misconduct in public office. Johnson has urged calm as tempers flare in the debate over Britain's departure from the European Union, even though tempers are flaring over what he said.

A defiant Johnson told the BBC on Sunday that the "best thing for the country and for people's overall psychological health would be to get Brexit done." Johnson admitted that tensions were high as lawmakers discussed the prospect of Britain leaving the EU by October 31.

But he defended the use of words such as "surrender" act to describe an opposition law ordering a Brexit delay and claimed he's been a "model of restraint" in speaking about Brexit. Johnson headed Sunday to the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, where the party was expected to endorse government plans to spend more on the country's National Health Service. (AP) IND

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