Boris Johnson has used his first Daily Mail column to detail how a weight-loss drug did not work well for him amid accusations his new journalistic role is a “clear breach” of ministerial rules.
In a 1,200-word article, the former prime minister discusses his unsuccessful personal experience with appetite-suppressants but reaches the conclusion that they could be used to tackle Britain’s obesity crisis.
The publication came shortly after the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba) – the anti-corruption watchdog – wrote to him on Friday demanding an explanation in the latest claim that he has broken the standards expected of office.
An application received 30 mins before an appointment is announced is a clear breach— Acoba
Mr Johnson landed the job a day after he became the first ever former prime minister to be found to have lied to the Commons in the publication of the damning report into his partygate denials.
Friday’s Daily Mail used its front page to bill an “erudite” new columnist who will be “required reading in Westminster”.
Shortly after 1pm, the newspaper tweeted a video confirming Mr Johnson’s appointment, featuring him saying: “It’s going to be exactly what I think.”
Although he quipped he will only cover politics when “I absolutely have to”, the column gives him a powerful platform to take shots at Prime Minister Rishi Sunak with whom he has been publicly clashing.
In his first column, Mr Johnson does allude to one political betrayal – using quotes from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar about the Roman Emperor’s relationship with Cassius.
He claims to have noticed a Cabinet colleague’s weight loss during his time in government and wondering how they had achieved it.
“I immediately thought of Julius Caesar, and his preference for well-fed colleagues,” he writes.
“‘Let me have men about me that are fat,’ said the Roman dictator, shortly before his assassination. ‘Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look.’ As it turned out, Caesar was right to be worried about Cassius.”
Mr Johnson claims he learned the colleague had been using a “wonder drug” which he tried out himself.
“After 40 years of moral failure, 40 years of weakness in the face of temptation — of akrasia — I was going to acquire a new and invincible chemical willpower,” he writes.
He ultimately stopped taking the drug because it made him ill and now relies on “exercise and willpower” of his own, but still concludes that it could be used to help others lose weight if it agrees better with them.
The ministerial code requires those who have left the Government in the last two years to apply to the independent watchdog for advice on taking up a new appointment or role.
But Acoba, chaired by Tory peer Lord Eric Pickles, was clear that Mr Johnson’s last-minute declaration was a breach of the rules.
A spokeswoman said: “The ministerial code states that ministers must ensure that no new appointments are announced, or taken up, before the committee has been able to provide its advice.
“An application received 30 mins before an appointment is announced is a clear breach.
“We have written to Mr Johnson for an explanation and will publish correspondence in due course, in line with our policy of transparency.”
The Acoba rules are in place to avoid suspicion that an appointment might be a reward for past favours and to mitigate a risk a minister could exploit privileged access to Government contacts.
But the watchdog is frequently accused of being “toothless” because it cannot impose sanctions.
A spokesman for the former prime minister said: “Boris Johnson is in touch with Acoba and the normal process is being followed.”
Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner said Mr Johnson is “once again breaking the rules and taking advantage of a broken system for his own benefit”.
“As he makes a mockery of the toothless ethics watchdog, this disgraced former prime minister clearly thinks the rules are for the little people,” she added.
On Friday, the right-leaning newspaper said it is “delighted” to welcome “one of the wittiest and most original writers in the business”.
In a video shared alongside the announcement, Mr Johnson said he is “thrilled” to contribute to “those illustrious pages”, and promised to deliver “completely unexpurgated stuff”.
Mr Johnson’s column will appear in the paper every Saturday.
There has been speculation about whether Mr Johnson would return to his journalism roots after he dramatically quit as an MP last week ahead of a report that found he lied to Parliament with his denials of lockdown rule-breaking in No 10.
Before he became party leader, Mr Johnson received a £275,000 salary to write for the Telegraph, which will likely pale in comparison to the sum he will pocket as a former premier.
The former Tory leader joins the ranks of his staunch ally Nadine Dorries, who writes a weekly Tuesday column for the Daily Mail.
The former culture secretary, who has also announced her exit from the Commons, used her most recent piece to suggest “sinister forces” were behind the decision to exclude her from Mr Johnson’s controversial resignation honours list.
The former long-standing Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre was also once tipped to be on the list, but was reportedly removed during the House of Lords vetting process.
On Thursday, Mr Johnson was found to have deliberately misled MPs with his partygate denials in a report by the Privileges Committee.
They said a series of offences merited a 90-day suspension from the House and recommended he should be blocked from holding the pass to Parliament that former MPs are granted.
Mr Johnson dismissed the report by the cross-party committee, which he claims is a “kangaroo court”, as “deranged”.
