London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 24, 2025

"Abuse, Guilt": Boris Johnson Drops Hint On Why He Left Journalism

"Abuse, Guilt": Boris Johnson Drops Hint On Why He Left Journalism

Johnson, 56, has displayed a colourful, sometimes combative speaking and writing style both as a journalist and as a politician.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson suggested on Tuesday that he had left journalism for politics, because in his original profession he often found himself abusing people in print.

Johnson, 56, has displayed a colourful, sometimes combative speaking and writing style both as a journalist and as a politician, a trait which has fuelled many controversies during his three decades in the public eye.

"When you're a journalist, it's a great, great job. It's a great profession. But the trouble is that you always, sometimes, you find yourself always abusing people, attacking people," he said during a visit to a school on Tuesday.

"Not that you want to abuse and attack them, but you are being critical. You're being critical when maybe you feel sometimes a bit guilty about that because you haven't put yourself in the place of the person you're criticising."

Johnson concluded his off-the-cuff remarks by suggesting that it was those aspects of journalism that had driven him to give politics a go instead.

The opposition Labour Party said Johnson should apologise to journalists.

"We know from Donald Trump that these kind of assaults on the free press are dangerous and designed to stir up distrust and division," said Labour's media policy chief, lawmaker Chris Matheson.

"For Boris Johnson to say journalists are 'always abusing people' probably says more about his own career," he added.

As a young man, Johnson was sacked from his first job in journalism, at the Times newspaper, for making up a quote.

He went on to have a successful career at the Daily Telegraph, where he made his name as a Brussels correspondent lambasting the European Union in vivid if not always entirely accurate prose.

He later pursued parallel media and political careers as editor of the Spectator magazine and as a member of parliament.

Even in more recent years, when he has focused more on successive political jobs as mayor of London, foreign affairs minister and prime minister, he has written frequent newspaper columns in his trademark style.

In the latest of a series of similar examples, he caused a major public row with a 2018 column in which he likened Muslim women wearing burqas to letter boxes and bank robbers.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
×