Earning $315,000 for ex-prime minister Boris Johnson did not take long. In exchange for the large fee, Johnson gave a half hour speech and a ‘fireside chat’ at the Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers conference in Colorado.
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Johnson, who is still the MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip, took some time away from the Commons in order to fly to the US for the event. As a result he missed a vote on repealing the National Insurance rise and was not seen at Prime Minister’s Questions either, according to The Mirror.
The speech
An article by WalesOnline stated:
People in attendance said he addressed topics such as his continued belief in Brexit, British support for Ukraine and the scepticism he used to have around global heating
It also said that he regaled the audience with tales of how he and Angela Merkel crept off at the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow last year and shared a bottle of Macron’s ‘fancy’ French wine.
Renato Lilienfeld, President and Senior Partner at Lilienfeld Corredores de Seguros, who was at the event, commented on Johnson’s stance on Brexit, according to UK Daily News:
He still believes strongly in Brexit. He said that before there was even a Brexit discussion, whenever he attended Brussels meetings, he was always the one to say, “I don’t agree with that, I don’t agree with that.” And that is why he finally pushed for Brexit.”
Big fees
Johnson is expected to make some serious money in the future, which will dwarf his current salary as an MP - £84,144.
He is thought to be lining up big jobs for when his three month ban expires on taking work outside of his parliamentary duties since his resignation. According to The Mirror:
The Advisory Committee on Business Appointments watchdog (Acoba) is sifting through multiple requests that could top up his £84,144 salary as an MP.
Whilst there is an Acoba rule which prevents taking on work within three months of his resignation, this speech is considered as a one-off and so not thought to be a breach of the rules.
Sources used:
- WalesOnline 'Boris Johnson earns £315,000 for 30 minute speech and 'fireside chat' in United States'
- The Economic Times 'Has Boris Johnson broken Acoba rule with his Colorado speech?'
- The Mirror'Boris Johnson starts cashing in with £135k speech - while Commons sits 5,000 miles away'
- Uk Daily News'Boris Johnson sipped Macron’s ‘fancy wine’ with Angela Merkel'
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