Boris Johnson's mooted Telegraph return dismissed as 'gimmick' by insiders

A reported plan to install Boris Johnson as an executive at The Daily Telegraph if a takeover led by a former Cabinet colleague is successful has been dismissed as a “gimmick” by insiders.

Mr Johnson has held preliminary, informal talks with Nadhim Zahawi about a possible job with the right-leaning newspaper publisher if an offer being assembled by the former chancellor succeeds, Sky News reported.

Mr Zahawi has raised the idea, with prospective investors in his bid, of Mr Johnson becoming The Daily Telegraph‘s global editor-in-chief, according to the broadcaster.

Mr Johnson, who now writes a column for the Daily Mail, previously worked for The Daily Telegraph as a correspondent in Brussels and as a columnist.

Mr Zahawi, who, like Mr Johnson, is no longer a Conservative MP, has secured financial backing for his bid and is negotiating directly with Gulf-based IMI, which owns the majority of RedBird IMI, the vehicle now overseeing the formal auction process.

A source close to Mr Johnson insisted there had been no detailed discussions about him taking a role at The Daily Telegraph but did not deny that the idea had been floated.

However, figures at The Daily Telegraph were dismissive of the idea of a Johnson return.

One insider said: “It sounds like more of an ambassadorial role, a gimmick to help drum up funds for the investors and an earner for Boris.

“It’s very hypothetical and, unless it was a first stage to Boris having a day-to-day editor role, it wouldn’t have much impact.”

Another said: “Boris still has political ambitions. A role at The Daily Telegraph could help steer the debate over the future of the Conservative party. Does he have the attention to detail for a daily editorial role? Probably not.”

However, the source suggested that “potentially Boris’s column could return to The Daily Telegraph from the Daily Mail if he had an executive position”.

Until he became prime minister in 2019, Mr Johnson was paid a £275,000 salary by The Daily Telegraph for working 10 hours a month on opinion pieces.

After leaving Westminster, Mr Johnson signed a contract with the Daily Mail, said to be worth £1m, to write an exclusive column, beginning last summer.

But with Mr Johnson also contracted to HarperCollins to deliver his memoirs, the former prime minister appears to be saving the juiciest details of his turbulent three years in Downing Street for the book, titled Unleashed, set for publication in October.

Mr Johnson is expected to conduct an extensive global publicity tour around the publication, restricting his immediate ability to take on other roles.

Last year Mr Johnson agreed a deal with GB News, under which he would have presented his own series and featured as a regular on-air pundit discussing the 2024 UK and US elections.

However, Mr Johnson has yet to take up the role and is now not expected to fulfil the contract, insiders say.

Sir Paul Marshall, the hedge fund tycoon and co-funder of GB News, is in the frame to buy The Daily Telegraph newspapers as well as The Spectator.

Mr Marshall is believed to be the frontrunner to acquire the influential weekly magazine, which also attracted interest from Rupert Murdoch’s News UK.

Former advertising mogul Lord Saatchi has had a £350m bid to buy The Daily Telegraph rejected.

RedBird IMI is looking to recoup at least £600m from the sale of The Daily Telegraph and The Spectator.

An auction is being held after a bid led by RedBird IMI, a joint investment vehicle between US private equity firm Redbird and Abu Dhabi-backed vehicle International Media Investments, failed due to concerns over foreign state ownership of UK newspapers.

Daily Mail owner Lord Rothermere pulled the DMGT group out of the bidding for The Daily Telegraph, citing concerns that the Labour Government would object to the purchase and the risk of a “protracted regulatory process”.

RedBird IMI paid roughly £600m to purchase the business and agreed to take on £600m of related debts, under a deal with receivers called in to take over the Telegraph Media Group, owned by the Barclay family.

Mr Zahawi and Mr Johnson were approached for comment.

i is owned by Harmsworth Media, a division of DMGT that also contains New Scientist magazine, and has complete editorial independence.