Boris Johnson nears £5m in earnings since leaving office

Boris Johnson has registered an advance payment of nearly £2.5m for speaking events, in his latest declaration of outside earnings.

It brings the former prime minister's declared income since leaving office last September to £4.8m.

This total includes a £510,000 advance for his political memoirs.

Mr Johnson has also registered a further £13,500 in accommodation from JCB boss Lord Bamford and his wife Carole for January and February.

It brings the total value of accommodation he has registered from the couple for him and his family since leaving Downing Street to £74,000.

The nearly £2.5m advance in his latest declaration is from the New York-based Harry Walker speaking agency, for an unspecified number of speeches.

The payment is the latest demonstration of the lucrative careers that can be enjoyed by former holders of high office once they leave.

The £4.8m in earnings that Mr Johnson has declared since leaving No 10 just over five months ago is more than 50 times his yearly £84,144 MP salary.

A company set up to support his activities as a former PM has also received £1m from crypto currency investor Christopher Harborne.

Mr Harborne has previously donated more than £15m to the Conservatives, the Brexit Party, and Reform UK.

Mr Johnson was forced to resign by his ministers last July after a series of controversies prompted a mass walk-out among his ministers.

He attempted a comeback after his successor, Liz Truss, quit within weeks of taking office last September.

But despite obtaining enough support from Tory MPs to run in the contest to replace her, he ultimately stood aside, clearing the way for Rishi Sunak to become prime minister in October.