(Bloomberg) -- Boris Johnson promised to deliver his “unvarnished views” as the former UK prime minister takes up a new position at the GB News channel.
Johnson, who was ousted from power in 2022 and quit Parliament in June, said he will be joining the channel “shortly.” The move holds potential risks for the administration of Rishi Sunak, who Johnson and his allies blame for the role he played in the former premier's ouster. GB News regularly attacks the current government's approach from its predominantly right-wing platform.
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In a video shared Friday by GB News on X, formerly Twitter, Johnson said he would be giving his “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 think 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.”
Johnson was a journalist and columnist before entering politics, and wrote columns for the Daily Telegraph while a Member of Parliament and Mayor of London. In the past, his “unvarnished views” have got him into trouble, including a 1995 article in which he blamed single mothers for “producing a generation of ill-raised, ignorant, aggressive and illegitimate children.”
He has also faced fierce criticism for a string of inflammatory comments, including his descriptions of Black people, gay men and Muslim women.
Johnson, 59, quit the House of Commons after reading the result of an investigation into whether he misled lawmakers over his knowledge of Covid-19 rule breaches by officials. The seven-strong, majority-Conservative Privileges Committee found him in “serious contempt.”
His departure from 10 Downing Street was typically controversial. Johnson was ousted as premier after it emerged he'd promoted an MP, Chris Pincher to a senior government role, despite knowing of a formal complaint against him into inappropriate behavior in 2019. That sparked dozens of resignations from his government that eventually led him to also quit.
Parliament's Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, which former ministers must consult about new jobs for two years after leaving office, said Friday that Johnson had consulted them and that they “did not consider joining GB News as a presenter to raise any particular concerns.”
“It is your responsibility to manage the propriety of the specific pieces of work undertaken with GB News,” the committee told Johnson. “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.”
GB News said in a statement Johnson would join at the start of 2024, and will “play a key role in the channel's coverage of both the UK general election and the US elections.” He will also “create and present a new series showcasing the power of Britain around the world,” as well as hosting occasional special shows with live audiences around the country, the broadcaster said.
Meanwhile Sunak, whose Conservatives are trailing in the polls, will likely be hoping Johnson limits any sniping from the sidelines. In his weekly column in the Daily Mail newspaper, the former prime minister has steered largely clear of needling Sunak and as a result — and for perhaps the first time in his political career — he's been having little impact on Westminster chatter.
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