Boris Johnson enjoyed the hospitality of Rupert Murdoch and a few days later was paid £276,130 plus expenses for a speech to insurance agents in the US.
Johnson’s update to his register of interests – all MPs are required to update theirs every 28 days – shows he travelled to Montana for a business meeting on 11-12 October.
The entry shows Murdoch covered Johnson’s air travel inside the US and provided him and two members of staff with more “accommodation and hospitality”, at an estimated value of £11,559. It was not detailed whom Johnson met in Montana, but Murdoch is said to have bought a large ranch in the state last year.
On 14 October, the former prime minister addressed the Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers (CIAB) conference in Colorado Springs for 30 minutes, before engaging in “fireside chat” for 45 minutes, for which he was paid. He was given transport and accommodation from the conference for himself and two members of staff, on top of the £276,130 fee.
Johnson also declared £3,500 worth of accommodation for him and his family over a period of four weeks from the Tory donor Anthony Bamford, the pro-Brexit businessman who also covered the cost of Johnson’s wedding reception in July.
Theresa May, Johnson’s predecessor as prime minister, declared that she received £8,000 from World 50, a “private community for senior-most executives” based in the US, for appearing at a virtual speaking event that was based in the US. She received £97,000 for speaking at an event hosted by the private equity firm Apax Partners, making Johnson’s speaker fee considerably higher than hers.
According to her register of interests, May uses the income from her speaking engagements to pay her staff, maintain her “ongoing involvement in public life” and support her charitable work. The former prime minister draws an annual salary from her private office of £85,000.
The former health secretary Matt Hancock declared a payment of £10,000 for appearing at a conference where he discussed how the government should support cryptocurrencies.
