London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

Journalist Tom Bower confirms he is writing Boris Johnson biography

Journalist Tom Bower confirms he is writing Boris Johnson biography

Author is said to specialise in books about ‘men with something to hide’

With Boris Johnson facing mounting calls to resign following this week’s supreme court ruling, and a brewing conflict of interest scandal, he is likely hoping nothing else will add to his list of woes.

But the prime minister has another potential pitfall on the horizon as, the Guardian has learned, the investigative author Tom Bower is writing a biography of him.

The award-winning journalist, whose wife, Veronica Wadley, served as a senior adviser to Johnson during his time as mayor of London, confirmed the book will be ready to hit the shelves next year.

Bower, who has been responsible for a series of damning biographies about high-profile figures over the years, has a reputation for unearthing damaging revelations about his subjects. He is said to specialise in books about “men with something to hide”.

News of the impending book will come as an unwelcome headache for the prime minister – who has a notoriously colourful private life – after a series of damaging revelations in recent months, including his late-night row with girlfriend Carrie Symonds.

This week, the prime minister stonewalled questions about a Sunday Times investigation that revealed he had a close friendship with US model-turned-entrepreneur Jennifer Arcuri, whose business received public funds while he was mayor. It comes as Johnson was hit by the supreme court’s ruling on Tuesday that his move to suspend parliament was illegal.

Bower has penned a series of biographies about Labour political figures including Jeremy Corbyn, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown but it is the first time he will dig into the life of a Conservative leader.

The columnist Peter Oborne accused Bower of systematically distorting the truth in his biography of the Labour leader, Dangerous Hero: Corbyn’s Ruthless Plot for Power, which was released earlier this year. In a scathing review, he wrote: “[The book] systematically omits relevant facts in order to portray Corbyn as a ruthless Marxist and antisemite hellbent on destroying western liberal values.”

By comparison, the Times’ review labelled it a “forensically detailed portrait” of Corbyn. Despite the praise, the reviewer concluded: “Yet Bower never really unpicks precisely why so many people, despite everything, continue to support such a joyless, limited and dogmatic man.”

Other biographies authored by Bower include books on Prince Charles, the Formula One tycoon Bernie Ecclestone, the billionaire Richard Branson, TV judge Simon Cowell and the businessman Mohamed Al Fayed. In 2003, Bower won the prestigious William Hill sports book of the year prize for Broken Dreams: Vanity, Greed and the Souring of British Football, his investigation into corruption in the game.

Bower’s latest book is published by Ebury, part of Penguin Books. It will be the third major biography of Johnson, following Sonia Purnell’s Just Boris: A Tale of Blond Ambition, published in 2011, and Andrew Gimson’s 2006 Boris: The Rise of Boris Johnson.

Wadley, a former editor of the Evening Standard who has been married to Bower for more than 30 years, was a senior adviser to Johnson from 2012 to 2016.

Drummond Moir, the group deputy publisher at Ebury, said: “WH Allen are proud to confirm they have signed up Britain’s leading investigative biographer to write a new biography of Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson. Written with Bower’s trademark access, insight and candour, the book will be published in 2020.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Apple Expands Social Media Presence in China With RedNote Account Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Bill Barr Testifies No Evidence Implicated Trump in Epstein Case; DOJ Set to Release Records
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
Emails Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
JPMorgan Plans New Canary Wharf Tower
Zelenskyy and his allies say they will press Trump on security guarantees
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
The Drought in Britain and the Strange Request from the Government to Delete Old Emails
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
"No, Thanks": The Mathematical Genius Who Turned Down 1.5 Billion Dollars from Zuckerberg
The surprising hero, the ugly incident, and the criticism despite victory: "Liverpool’s defense exposed in full"
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
Jellyfish Swarm Triggers Shutdown at Gravelines Nuclear Power Station in Northern France
×