The Real Reasons Behind Boris Johnson’s Exile to GB News

What really lies behind the former Prime Minister's decision to accept a new role at the scandal-ridden news channel

The news that Boris Johnson has been hired by GB News will not surprise many. The channel already hosts multiple Conservative MPs, including Johnson’s close ally and favoured ‘deluded stooge’ Jacob Rees-Mogg. 

If the real aim of your ‘news’ organisation is actually to buy influence with the Conservative Party and Government then hiring a former Prime Minister, even a failed one like Johnson, makes sense.

What is less obvious is why Johnson has taken the gig. 

Of course the overwhelming motivation is likely money. With his offshore-funded salary estimated to be in the mid-to-high six figures, the notoriously grasping, and miserly former Prime Minister would have found it hard to refuse.

Yet on every other measure it is a bizarre decision. Reliably awkward on camera, visibly uninterested in the opinions of others and quick to temper, Johnson has all the makings of being a truly embarrassing host.

And whatever political ambitions he might still harbour, it is hard to see how they will be furthered by his new role as a third-rate presenter on Britain’s fourth most-watched news channel.

So what’s really going on here?