Boris Johnson made more than £1m from four speaking engagements in just two months after leaving No 10, travelling across the globe to give paid speeches while still sitting as an MP. The former prime minister also accepted more than £40,000 in free accommodation from Tory donor Lord Bamford and his wife after moving out of Downing Street and Chequers in September, according to an update to the register of members’ financial interests. Johnson’s speeches include £277,723 from Centerview investment bankers in New York, £261,652 from the Hindustan Times in India, and £215,275 from Televisão Independente for a speech in Lisbon. He also accepted £276,000 from insurance brokers in the US in September.
The former prime minister has now been given permission for the speaking engagements through the Harry Walker agency from the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba) but he does not appear to have stuck to their rule that he should wait for three months after leaving office before taking up paid employment. It was previously suggested that the first engagement in September was a one-off. Johnson previously broke Acoba rules when he failed to declare a column from the Daily Telegraph after leaving office as foreign secretary. However, there are no formal sanctions for a breach of the rules, leading to accusations that Acoba is a toothless watchdog. Johnson also gave a speech to a conference on blockchain, the technology behind cryptocurrency, in Singapore in December but his earnings from this engagement have not yet been declared. He accepted the accommodation from the Bamfords despite part-owning three other homes, in Oxfordshire, London and Somerset. The Bamford family also contributed more than £23,800 towards the Johnsons’ wedding celebrations over the summer. He has previously declared more than £11,000 of hospitality in the US from Rupert Murdoch, plus almost £20,000 of hospitality from Heathrow airport for use of its royal suite. The earnings were declared in the latest House of Commons register of interests. The declaration also revealed that Rishi Sunak received three more donations for his November campaign to be leadership of the Conservative party. These include £2,000 from James Diner, an asset manager, £4,000 from a Mark Futter, and £2,000 from Dr Selva Pankaj, the owner of Regent Group, a private education company.