Boris Johnson signs ‘seven-figure’ deal for his memoirs

Boris Johnson is to give his account of his time in Downing Street after signing a deal for his memoirs, thought to be worth a seven-figure sum, with Rupert Murdoch’s book publisher HarperCollins.

The former prime minister is likely to start work on the account later this year once he has finished a much-delayed biography of William Shakespeare.

Arabella Pike, publishing director at HarperCollins’ imprint William Collins, described the prospect of the book as “a prime-ministerial memoir like no other”.

She added: “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.”

The book is expected to cover Johnson’s time in office, from his appointment as foreign secretary after the 2016 EU referendum, through the “Brexit wars” in Parliament, until after he became leader and prime minister in 2019. The as-yet-untitled memoir will give the definitive account of the 2019 general election landslide, taking the UK out of the European Union in 2020 and the UK government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

It will also allow Johnson to give his account of his downfall at the hands of his own MPs last summer, in the wake of Partygate and other scandals.

A close MP ally told the Daily Telegraph last night: “Boris Johnson lives inside lots of people’s heads rent-free, so writing a book will be a good opportunity to put his version of events on the table for the record.”

Johnson, 58, a reporter and columnist for the Daily Telegraph for three decades before he entered government, was sometimes seen during his tenure as prime minister clutching a reporter’s notepad, with the date on it, suggesting he would be able to rely on contemporaneous notes for his memoir.

His memoir will come after his former culture secretary Nadine Dorries publishes her account of Johnson’s downfall, titled The Plot.