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Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson was paid £276,130 plus expenses by Australian-American businessman and investor, Rupert Murdoch, for a speech to insurance agents in the United States. An entry in Johnson’s register of interests, which all MPs are required to update theirs every 28 days, shows he travelled to Montana for a business meeting on 11-12 October.

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The register revealed that Murdoch covered Johnson’s air travel expenses inside the US and provided him and two members of staff with “accommodation and hospitality." This hospitality was of an estimated value of £11,559. However, there was no further details about who Johnson met while in Montana.  

Johnson addressed the Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers (CIAB) conference in Colorado Springs on 14 October for 30 minutes. Later, he also held engagements in “fireside chat” for 45 minutes. For the interation Murdoch paid Johnson the amount as was disclosed in the register of interests. 

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Apart from £276,130 fee, transport and accommodation cost for Johnson and his two staff members was also covered. Another set of information that was disclosed was that Johnson also declared £3,500 worth of accommodation for him and his family over a period of four weeks from the Tory donor Anthony Bamford. He is te one who also covered the cost of Johnson’s wedding reception in July.

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These are similar accounts for Theresa May, Johnson’s predecessor. She declared receival of £8,000 from World 50, a “private community for senior-most executives” based in the US. It was for appearing at a virtual speaking event based in US. However, her fees was lower than Johnson’s fee. She received £97,000 for speaking at an event hosted by the private equity firm Apax Partners. 

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