How Johnson sought business links with Saudi officials he met while PM

Boris Johnson recently approached senior Saudi officials he had met when prime minister to pitch the services of a consultancy firm he claimed "could be useful" to the petrostate's autocratic crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, leaked files suggest.

- Harry Davies Henry Dyer

Johnson, who resigned from government in 2022, appears to have led the newly formed company's efforts last year to persuade the Saudi government to hire it to provide advice on reducing carbon emissions.

The revelations, contained in leaked documents seen by the Guardian, appear to show Johnson exploited contacts made in Downing Street for commercial purposes. They raise questions about whether he breached lobbying restrictions imposed on former ministers.

Johnson's overtures to the most powerful figures in Saudi Arabia were for Better Earth, a little-known UK-based consultancy firm established by a Canadian mining financier who co-chairs the company with the ex-PM. The approaches included a lunch and meeting in a private members' club with an influential Saudi minister whom Johnson had met while in government, files suggest.

Johnson also personally wrote a flattering letter addressed to Prince Mohammed, telling the de facto Saudi leader he was a "fervent admirer of the vision you have for the kingdom".

The letter is contained in the Boris files, leaked documents that shine a light on Johnson's post-prime ministerial career. The files were obtained by Distributed Denial of Secrets, a US non-profit that archives data leaks.

The cache offers an inside view of how Johnson has forged a lucrative career in the private sector after leaving government, using his influence and contacts made in public office.

Johnson and Better Earth did not respond to repeated requests for comment. The Saudi government also did not respond.

Better Earth's shareholders include seven close associates and advisers to Johnson, including two ex-Conservative ministers and Charlotte Owen, a 32-year-old former aide given a peerage by the ex-PM. As prime minister, and earlier as foreign secretary, Johnson engaged extensively with the government of Saudi Arabia, an authoritarian state that rights groups have long criticised for rights abuses.