Ex-PM sets up company ‘The Office of Boris Johnson Limited’ to channel £5million he is predicted to earn on lucrative speaking circuit
- Johnson, 58, is not a director of the company but listed as owning 75 per cent
- The only company director is Michelle Williams-Walker, 40, a longstanding ally
- He is keen to earn money after complaining his £161,401 salary was not enough
- Theresa May revealed her company made £1.16million in its first year of trading
Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson has set up a company to channel millions in earnings that he is expected to generate on the lucrative speaking circuit.
He has just registered the company The Office of Boris Johnson Limited with Companies House.
The ex Premier, who stood down last month, is predicted to earn around £5million a year after quitting Downing Street.
Johnson, 58, is not a director of the company but listed under his full name, Alexander Boris De Pfeffel Johnson, as a ‘person of significant control’ owning 75 per cent or more of the company shares.
He is said to be keen to earn serious money after months of complaining that his Westminster salary of £161,401 was not enough.
Johnson, 58, is not a director of the company but listed under his full name, Alexander Boris De Pfeffel Johnson, as a ‘person of significant control’ owning 75 per cent or more of the company shares
He is said to have regularly complained to friends that he is hard up, citing his second divorce, several children and his reduced income since entering No 10.
The company is registered to the offices of Begbies Accountants in the City of London and will not file accounts detailing earnings for another two years.
The only company director is Michelle Williams-Walker, 40, who is believed to be Johnson’s long-term head of operations, better known as Shelley Williams-Walker.
She earned the nickname DJ SWW for her music playlist at the notorious Downing Street Party on the eve of Prince Phillip’s funeral in 2021.
Johnson is following in a line of recently departed PMs who have also set up companies, including Theresa May, who revealed in the summer that her company made £1.16million in its first year of trading.
But Johnson is believed to have much greater earning potential and is also said to be keen to improve his finances.
The first indications of how lucrative are likely to appear in the coming weeks as all MP’s have to declare income outside of their Parliamentary salary in the Members Register of Financial Interests.
After quitting as Foreign Secretary in Theresa May’s Government in 2018 and before becoming PM the following July Johnson registered more than £450,000 in earnings from speeches.
He is said to be keen to earn serious money after months of complaining that his Westminster salary of £161,401 was not enough
Johnson is following in a line of recently departed PMs who have also set up companies, including Theresa May, who revealed in the summer that her company made £1.16million in its first year of trading
His value on the after-dinner circuit around the world will have soared following his period of Prime Minister in which he completed Britain’s exit from the EU, battled the Covid 19 pandemic and positioned himself as a lead on the world’s response to the Ukraine crisis.
Ex chancellor George Osborne racked up earnings of almost £1 million in less than a year after he was replaced as chancellor when Theresa May replaced David Cameron as PM.
But after standing down as an MP in June 2017 at the general election when he became editor of the Evening Standard, he no longer had to register his income.
Johnson has so far only registered £10,000 for the use of accommodation he has accepted from Lady Carole Bamford since he stood down as PM.
A spokesman for Johnson said: ‘The Office of Boris Johnson Ltd will support Boris Johnson’s private office in line with similar structures established by former prime ministers.’
Source: Read Full Article
