After Downing St Files Reveal Secrets of the Former PM's Pursuit of Profit

Boris Johnson started the day with a jog. He had the kind of schedule that would be familiar to any occupant of Downing Street.

- Tom Burgis, Harry Davies, Henry Dyer

From 8.44am he talked to his aides, then chaired cabinet, ate lunch, prepped for prime minister's questions, took a briefing on security threats, and got ready for an interview with one of Rupert Murdoch's reporters.

The entry for 5.48pm in the official log for Tuesday 26 April 2022 also contains one of several privileged interactions that he would later seek to exploit for financial gain. Johnson was in his office, the log notes, "alone texting MBS".

Within two years, Johnson, by then out of office, would be trying to use the relationship he had nurtured with Saudi Arabia's Mohammed bin Salman, widely known by his initials, as part of an intercontinental campaign of self-enrichment.

Those widespread commercial activities, which raise questions about misuse of public funds and breaches of "revolving door" prohibitions on lobbying, have been exposed this week by the Guardian after a leak from Johnson's private office.

The crown prince, who is heir to a fossil-fuel fortune that makes his family among the richest that have ever lived, had established himself as the all-powerful ruler of Saudi Arabia, and a player on the global stage.

Johnson had also spoken to Prince Mohammed on the phone for seven minutes shortly after 8pm the previous night, according to the logs seen by the Guardian.

They discussed international developments, the war in Ukraine and "cooperation between their countries and ways to develop it". Six advisers had been with Johnson on that call. Now it was just him and the crown prince, texting.

The moment captures the intimacy that can be shared by fellow holders of high office, two individuals with the power of nations at their disposal. Once their exchange was over, Johnson set off for an outing in the West End to catch a performance of the musical Six with his wife, Carrie.