Former Conservative cabinet minister Justine Greening has described the allegations made by women against Prime Minister
Boris Johnson as “deeply concerning”.
Greening, who now sits as an independent MP, told
BBC Radio 4′s Today programme that the accusations raised questions about “character and integrity.”
Johnson’s relationship with women has been brought to the fore in the past week, as he dismissed the concerns of female MPs as “humbug” in the House of Commons, and his “friendship” with
American businesswoman Jennifer Arcuri saw him referred to the
police watchdog over concerns about a misuse of public funds during his time as mayor of London.
The most recent allegations against the prime minister were made on Sunday, when journalist Charlotte Edwardes said Johnson had squeezed her thigh under the table during a private lunch at the offices of The Spectator 20 years ago. She also claims that he did the same to another female journalist.
A spokesperson for Number 10 said on Sunday evening that the allegations were “untrue”.
Greening said: “I can’t comment on those accusations, but they are deeply concerning, and in a sense they go to the heart of this question about character and integrity of people in public life and what standards the electorate have a right to expect.”
Greening said it was up to Number 10 to “decide how they respond to them, I’m saying I do think there’s a question of character and integrity, and that also goes so far as a prime minister being straight with the
British public about what he’s asking Europe for on their behalf.”"I do think there's a question of character and integrity."Justine Greening on the accusation that Boris Johnson squeezed a female journalist's thigh under a table at a private lunch in 1999 #r4todayhttps://t.co/EsM389YnlSpic.twitter.com/W07huzte33— BBC Radio 4 Today (@BBCr4today) September 30, 2019Greening has also released a fresh call for Johnson to release
Brexit plans to the British public, and said there was “no reason” why they couldn’t be shown to the people.
She said: “He has shown them to
Brussels, I can’t see any reason he would want to try to keep his cards close to his chest with the British people,” she said.
“This is completely unacceptable and I find it inconceivable that we can be starting a Conservative Party conference when activists aren’t even being told what the specifics are of the Brexit plan that Mr Johnson has for our country, and he should come clean with people about what he’s actually negotiating.” Related... Boris Johnson Threatens To Block Nicola Sturgeon From UN Climate Change Summit Has Boris Johnson's 'Women Problem' Finally Caught Up With Him? Boris Johnson Denies Squeezing Female Journalist's Thigh