Boris Johnson to hitch GB News as presenter and commentator
Boris Johnson is becoming a member of broadcaster GB News as a presenter and commentator.
The former prime minster stated he was was “very much looking forward” to becoming a member of the channel, which counts a lot of Tory MPs – together with former Cabinet minister Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg – as presenters.
In a video posted on X, previously often called Twitter, Mr Johnson stated he was “excited to say I will be joining shortly – and offering my frank opinions on world affairs”.
“I will be talking about the immense opportunities for Global Britain – as well as the challenges – and why our best days are yet to come.”
The appointment is more likely to increase additional questions after GB News was found to have breached impartiality rules by regulator Ofcom final month over an interview between Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and fellow Tory MPs Esther McVey and Philip Davies.
An episode of Saturday Morning With Esther And Phil featured a pre-recorded interview that targeted on the federal government’s strategy to financial and financial insurance policies forward of the funds, which was introduced 4 days later.
The watchdog obtained 45 complaints from viewers and stated its investigation discovered the programme was “overwhelmingly reflective of the viewpoints of different strands of opinion within the Conservative Party”.
In complete the regulator has seven active investigations into the broadcaster.
Following the GB News provide, Mr Johnson, who will take up his position within the new yr, sought the recommendation of the appointments watchdog, the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA).
It stated it “did not consider joining GB News as a presenter to raise any particular concerns under the government’s rules”.
However, it did remind the previous prime minister of his “responsibility to manage the propriety of the specific pieces of work undertaken with GB News”.
“In particular, as a former prime minister, you must be careful not to offer any unfair insight as a result of your access to information and potential influence in government,” it stated.
The committee beneficial that he comply with a lot of circumstances, together with that he doesn’t disclose any “privileged information available to you from your time in ministerial office” and that he mustn’t grow to be “personally involved in lobbying the UK government or its arm’s length bodies on behalf of GB News” for 2 years since his final day in workplace.
In the video saying the appointment, Mr Johnson additionally promised he would give his “unvarnished views on everything from Russia, China, the war in Ukraine, and how we meet all of those challenges, to the huge opportunities that lie ahead for us”.
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Since he left office last year, Mr Johnson has additionally landed a weekly column within the Daily Mail, which reportedly earns him an annual six-figure sum.
In that occasion, ACOBA found the former prime minister guilty of a “clear breach” of the rules surrounding jobs exterior parliament after he solely knowledgeable the watchdog of his new column half an hour earlier than it was publicly introduced.
Mr Johnson’s appointment comes after the latest controversy at GB News which noticed the broadcaster sack high-profile contributor Laurence Fox over comments he made about the journalist Ava Evans.
Calvin Robinson was additionally sacked in the course of the fallout, whereas Dan Wootton stays suspended.