UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is planning to step down from his job next spring as he has apparently been dissatisfied with his total annual salary of £150,402 ($194,244), the Sunday Mirror reported citing comments from anonymous Conservative MPs.
According to the report, the father of “at least six” children, including his six-month-old son Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas Johnson by former Tory party staffer Carrie Symonds, has been finding it hard to survive on such a sum as he has to support his offspring financially.
“And he had to pay ex-wife Marina Wheeler a shedload as part of their divorce deal,” one MP told the paper.
Johnson has also apparently expressed jealousy of his predecessor Theresa May, his Tory colleagues said. It was revealed this summer that May had now made nearly a £1million as part of a lecture circuit as American universities and international banks were ready to pay her a lot to hear about her time as prime minister.
The Conservative party’s leader allegedly believes that he could make even more money when he leaves Downing Street, something that could happen in six months after he “has sorted Brexit” and when the situation with coronavirus stabilises, the report says.
MPs now believe that Johnson has not been really satisfied with his Prime Ministerial job, despite all the effort he went to to get it, as his time in office has been shrouded by the Brexit saga and the unforeseen drama of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Boris is the typical adulterer. More interested in the chase than the prize,” one parliamentary source reportedly commented on the situation.
Before going into politics, Johnson worked as a columnist for the Daily Telegraph and the editor of The Spectator magazine. According to the Sunday Mirror, as a newspaper columnist he was making no less than £23,000 a month.
After accepting the post of UK Foreign Secretary in 2016, Johnson had to give up his column on Daily Telegraph. At that time, his salary was reported to be around £143,789 – a combination of his ministerial wage and money he was receiving as MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip, a reported sum of approximately £75,000.
According to April 2020 estimates, his MP's salary has risen to £79,468 which, combined with the Prime Minister's wage, entitles him to around £150,000 per year.
The report has not been confirmed by the Downing Street.
