Boris Johnson signs on as Daily Mail columnist

Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will join the tabloid The Daily Mail as its newest columnist, the publication announced Friday.

The new role has drawn ire from U.K. Parliament ethics officials because it is standard for ministers to vet their post-Downing Street roles with them first.

The column is a reprisal of Johnson’s pre-political career. Before running for Parliament in 2001, he wrote a column for The Daily Telegraph and was editor of The Spectator newsmagazine.

The Daily Mail announced the move on Twitter, calling Johnson “one of the wittiest and most original writers in the business.”

In a promotional video that includes clips of him as prime minister, Johnson said the column will be “exactly what I think,” but will usually avoid politics.

The same ethics board, the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, found that Johnson broke the rules in 2018 after he became a columnist for The Telegraph after he left a role as foreign secretary.

His first column is slated to be published late Friday.

Johnson announced his resignation as prime minister last July following a scandal-plagued tenure.

He was allegedly aware of a sexual abuse cover-up for political ally Chris Pincher, causing a wave of resignations from his government.

Johnson also came under fire for repeatedly holding and attending large parties during the height of COVID-19 lockdowns in the U.K., violating the law.

Other scandals involving members of the Conservative Party similarly weakened his government.

A parliamentary investigation into the “Partygate” scandal was released Thursday, claiming Johnson repeatedly misled Members of Parliament over his actions and recommending a 90-day suspension from Parliament.

Johnson resigned from his seat in Parliament last Friday due to the report’s impending release and slimming odds that he would survive the next election.

“I have received a letter from the Privileges Committee making it clear — much to my amazement — that they are determined to use the proceedings against me to drive me out of parliament,” he said in a resignation statement.

The report will go up for a vote in Parliament on Monday. Johnson has asked his political allies not to vote against it.