Boris Johnson: ex-Prime Minister broke government rules over Venezuela meeting with Maduro, Acoba says

Boris Johnson has breached government rules by being “evasive” about his meeting with Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, the business appointments watchdog has said. The former Prime Minister flew to Caracas in February for an unofficial meeting with Maduro. He reportedly texted the Foreign Secretary en route, however Downing Street said he was not speaking on behalf of the UK government.

At the time it was unclear who paid for the visit, however reports have since stated that the meeting was organised by a company called Merlyn Advisors, a hedge fund. Lord Pickles, chairman of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba), said Johnson had broken government rules by being “evasive” about his relationship with Merlyn Advisors.

The regulations state that former ministers must not take up new jobs or appointments without advice from Acoba first. Lord Pickles has written to both Johnson and Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden warning of the breach.

Johnson reportedly met President Maduro alongside Merlyn Advisors co-founder, Maarten Petermann. “Mr Johnson has repeatedly been asked by Acoba to clarify his relationship with Merlyn Advisors,” Lord Pickles wrote in his letter to Dowden. “He has not done so, nor has he denied the reports in the media that he has been working with Merlyn Advisors on a non-contractual basis.”

Nicolas Maduro succeeded communist Hugo Chavez in 2013, and has been described by many observers as a dictator. According to the UN, more than 20,000 people have been murdered in extra-judicial killings and there is evidence of torture being used. Maduro has threated to invade neighbouring Guyana, which was a former British colony, and the UK has sent a warship to the region to support the Caribbean nation.

A the time of the trip, a spokesman for Johnson said he "repeatedly made clear there can be no hope of normalisation in relations until Venezuela fully embraces democracy and respects the territorial integrity of its neighbours". They added: "He also set out the case for the cause of Ukrainian victory to the government of Venezuela."

In correspondence dating back to 18 March, the watchdog contacted Johnson’s office asking him to set out his relationship with Merlyn Advisors following media reports of his South American visit. He replied he had no contractual relationship with the company, and in further correspondence said he had not been paid for any meetings in Venezuela.

He added: “I was extensively briefed by HMA (His Majesty’s Ambassador) Caracas before the meeting and used the occasion to push for democracy, human rights and the support of Ukraine.” Lord Pickles raised concerns that the trip was paid for by Merlyn Advisers and about the nature of Johnson’s activities for the company, even though he was not under any formal contract.

The peer warned: “If that is the case, there is a reasonable concern that you were acting in a capacity that would be inconsistent with Acoba’s guidance on ‘one-off’ speaking engagements – which does not provide blanket approval for ad-hoc advisory work.”

Johnson did not answer further questions from Lord Pickles about the nature of the meetings or his relationship with Merlyn, and said he believed it was “clearly not necessary to consult or seek Acoba” about the work.

But the watchdog chief disagreed and said there “remains a reasonable concern that you were acting for Merlyn Advisors in a capacity that would be considered advisory work”, which Acoba would have expected him to ask advice for.

He added: “Given the evasive nature of your replies, your failure to answer specific questions put to you, or provide the context of your relationship with Merlyn Advisors, the committee has formed the view that there has been a breach of the government’s business appointment rules.”

Lord Pickles then reported the former prime minister’s actions to Dowden, who is also responsible for overseeing the Cabinet Office, the department which oversees the machinery of government. He admitted there was little action which could be taken against Johnson, as the rules “no longer have relevance in the modern world and are unenforceable to applicants determined to ignore them”.

Ralph Blackburn is NationalWorld’s politics editor based in Westminster, where he gets special access to Parliament, MPs and government briefings. If you liked this article you can follow Ralph on X (Twitter) here and sign up to his free weekly newsletter Politics Uncovered, which brings you the latest analysis and gossip from Westminster every Sunday morning.