London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 09, 2025

Boris Johnson writing memoir about his time as PM

Boris Johnson writing memoir about his time as PM

Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson has signed a deal to write a book about his turbulent time as prime minister, described as a "memoir like no other".

Publisher HarperCollins has bought the rights to the memoir, which is yet to be titled.

No publication date has been set for the account of Mr Johnson's time in office.

A biographer and friend of Mr Johnson said he expected the former PM to make a "vast sum" from the book deal.

"It will be tremendously readable and no ghost writer will be required," Andrew Gimson, author of The Rise of Boris Johnson, told the BBC. "People pay vast amounts of money for these books."

Literary agents have predicted Mr Johnson could be paid "north of £1m" for a memoir about his spell as prime minister.

HarperCollins refused to share details about how much Mr Johnson was paid for the deal, when the book might be finished, or how many copies it expected to sell.

In brief statement, its publishing director, Arabella Pike, said: "I look forward to working with Boris Johnson as he writes his account of his time in office during some of the most momentous events the United Kingdom has seen in recent times."

Mr Johnson was forced to resign by his ministers last July after a series of controversies shattered confidence in his leadership.

He attempted a comeback after his successor, Liz Truss, quit within weeks of taking office, but ultimately stood aside, and saw Rishi Sunak become prime minister.

Mr Johnson's time in office was defined, in part, by the Covid-19 pandemic and the UK's departure from the European Union.


'Rescuing his reputation'


There has been speculation that Mr Johnson is plotting a return to frontline politics and has said he will stand again as an MP at the next general election.

Mr Gimson said the memoir will be "an important exercise in rescuing his reputation" and "part of the audience for this will be his own party".

"He's got to tell those people I'm worth another go," Mr Gimson said, predicting the book could be published this year.

A former journalist, Mr Johnson had a long career in the media before becoming prime minister, working as editor of the Spectator from 1999 to 2005 and as a columnist for the Telegraph.

Other UK prime ministers have secured lucrative books deals, receiving large sums for the publishing rights.

Sir Tony Blair was reported to have been paid about £5m in 2007 for his political memoir A Journey, while David Cameron was reported to have earned £1.5m for his memoir, For The Record.

Mr Johnson has already written a number of books, including The Churchill Factor, a biography of his hero and wartime leader Sir Winston Churchill.

As a backbench Conservative MP, Mr Johnson has also made a considerable amount of money touring the speaking circuit, declaring more than £1m in speaking fees since leaving office in September.

Last week, parliamentary records showed a company set up by Mr Johnson had received a £1m donation from crypto-currency investor.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×