Boris Johnson is joining GB News to offer his “unvarnished” views as a pundit, presenter and programme-maker.
The former prime minister will start at the news channel in January to play a key role in its coverage of next year’s UK and US elections.
Johnson, 59, will work alongside a roster of presenters that includes the Conservative MPs Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, Lee Anderson, Esther McVey and Philip Davies, as well as the former Ukip leader Nigel Farage.
Johnson will not host a regular show for the channel but will create and present a series showcasing the power of Britain around the world, as well as hosting special programmes around the country in front of live audiences.
It marks the first regular broadcast role for the former Tory leader, who resigned as an MP in June and signed a reported six-figure deal to write a column for the Daily Mail that month.
Advertisement
“GB News is an insurgent channel with a loyal and growing following. I am excited to say I will be joining shortly — and offering my frank opinions on world affairs,” Johnson said.
“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.”
He said that he expected to offer “unvarnished views” on topics including Russia, China and the war in Ukraine.
Farage welcomed the appointment of his former adversary.
“I might have been somewhat critical of what he did as prime minister, but that is a different kettle of fish,” he said. “I think Boris coming to GB News and doing programmes will be highly entertaining, and that is perhaps an understatement.”
Advertisement
Johnson’s appointment comes after the dismissal of the GB News presenter Laurence Fox, who left after making derogatory comments about a female journalist on the Dan Wootton Tonight show last month. Wootton remains suspended from duties.
Nick Robinson, who presents BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, said that he considered the appointment to be another sign that the channel was failing in its requirements to be impartial.
“Johnson is joining Farage and Rees-Mogg in what looks less and less like a news channel and more and more like a new political movement,” he said.
“If that’s meant to be impartiality I’m probably going to be reincarnated as an olive, locked in a disused fridge or decapitated by a Frisbee.”
Last week the broadcasting regulator, Ofcom, found the channel in breach of its due impartiality rules for an interview about small boats with the Reform party leader Richard Tice, having previously criticised it over an appearance by the chancellor Jeremy Hunt on McVey and Davies’s show in May.
Advertisement
One minister said that it was an “inevitable” move and that they expected Johnson to be welcomed by GB News’ viewers. “He will be preaching to the converted,” they added.
GB News reached an average of 2.8 million viewers last month, behind BBC News on 8.9 million and 7.1 million for Sky News.
Michael Booker, editorial director for GB News, said that the channel was delighted it had “got Boris ‘done’” as he paid tribute to his political and broadcasting skills. “We are tremendously proud to have him join the GB News family, particularly as we head into a seismic year of politics both here and across the Atlantic,” he said. “Boris has been the most influential prime minister of our generation, and his unique insight into domestic and world affairs will be a smash hit with our viewers and listeners.”
Johnson sought advice from Whitehall’s appointments watchdog before taking up the job, which said it did not have any “particular concerns”.
