Boris Johnson to join GB News as presenter

He is the latest Tory politician to take up a presenting role on the channel
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Boris Johnson is set to join GB News as a presenter and commentator, he announced on Friday.

The disgraced former Prime Minister is the latest Conservative politician to take up a role with the broadcaster.

His show will focus on "the power of Britain around the world". He will also host the "occasional special in front of live audiences around the UK", the news channel said.

It added that Mr Johnson will "play a key role in coverage of both the UK general election and the US elections next year".

In a video posted on X, formerly Twitter, Mr Johnson said he was going to be sharing his "unvarnished views" on the TV channel.

"I am excited to say that I am shortly going to be joining you on GB News," he said.

"I'm going to be giving this remarkable, new TV channel my unvarnished views on everything from Russia, China, the war in Ukraine, how we meet all those challenges, to the huge opportunities that lie ahead for us, why I believe our best days are yet to come.

"And why on the whole the people of the world want to see more global Britain, not less."

Several serving Conservative MPs are paid huge salaries to host shows on GB News.

Deputy Tory Party Chairman Lee Anderson gets £100,000 a year for eight hours of work a week presenting.

While Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg has earned more than £149,000 since this year in his role as a GB News presenter.

Tatton MP Esther McVey and her husband, Tory MP Philip Davies have earned more than £165,000 over the past year for their work with the broadcaster.

Eleven MPs have been paid to either present or appear on the network since it launched in 2021, according to the latest register of MP interests.

Earlier this month the channel was embroiled in scandal when it sacked Laurence Fox following on-air comments he made about political journalist Ava Evans.

Mr Johnson was a journalist before entering Parliament and worked as the Brussels correspondent – and later political columnist – for The Daily Telegraph. From 1999 to 2005 he was the editor of The Spectator.

He quit as MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip in June when an investigation into the Partygate scandal found he misled parliament.

Later that month Mr Johnson began writing a column for the Daily Mail newspaper in a deal rumoured to be worth "six figures".

Mr Johnson will join GB News in the new year.

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