Boris Johnson has violated the rules concerning outside employment while serving in parliament by informing a key watchdog of his new column in the Daily Mail only thirty minutes before it was publicly announced. The anti-corruption watchdog in Whitehall stated that the former prime minister, who has pledged to express uncensored opinions, did not seek their advice within a reasonable timeframe.
According to guidelines, former ministers are required to consult the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba) before accepting new roles or appointments for up to two years after leaving government. A spokesperson for Acoba stated, “The Ministerial Code mandates that ministers ensure no new appointments are announced or accepted before the committee has had the opportunity to provide its advice. Submitting an application only 30 minutes before an appointment is announced constitutes a clear breach. We have written to Mr. Johnson requesting an explanation, and we will publish the correspondence in due course, consistent with our transparency policy.”
A source close to Mr. Johnson claimed that he had indeed written to Acoba but did not disclose when the letter was sent. The Daily Mail, a right-leaning publication and one of Johnson’s staunchest supporters, confirmed on Friday that they had hired him as a weekly columnist, praising him as “one of the wittiest and most original writers in the business.” In a video accompanying the announcement, Johnson expressed his delight in contributing to the newspaper and promised to provide “completely unexpurgated stuff.” While he joked about covering politics only when necessary, the column offers him a powerful platform to criticise Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, with whom he has had public clashes.
However, the timing of the announcement, coming a day after the privileges committee concluded that Johnson had lied to parliament regarding Downing Street lockdown parties, has drawn criticism from opposition MPs. Labour MP Angela Eagle remarked, “This is what having no shame looks like.” Former shadow chancellor John McDonell stated that he couldn’t think of a more appropriate outlet for Johnson to propagate his lies than the Daily Mail, which he described as a “rag” that contributes to societal division and lowers the standards of public life.
Speculation had been circulating as to whether Johnson would return to his journalistic roots following his recent resignation as an MP, which occurred prior to the damning privileges verdict becoming public. Before becoming party leader, Johnson received a £275,000 salary for writing for The Telegraph, an amount that is likely to pale in comparison to what he will earn as a former prime minister. POLITICO, the first to report on Johnson’s new writing position, stated that he will receive a “very high six-figure sum.”
The news of his lucrative job coincided with calls for the current prime minister to confront his predecessor and demand repayment of taxpayer funds used for Johnson’s legal fees related to the partygate scandal. Johnson now joins the ranks of his loyal ally Nadine Dorries, who writes a weekly column for the Daily Mail. The former culture secretary, who has also announced her departure from the House of Commons, used her most recent column to suggest the existence of “sinister forces” behind her exclusion from Johnson’s controversial resignation honours list, a claim that Downing Street denies. It is worth noting that the former long-standing editor of the Daily Mail, Paul Dacre, was once rumoured to be on the list but was reportedly removed during the House of Lords vetting process.
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