When Boris Johnson was prime minister, he was offered a loan of up to £800,000 to boost his income.
It emerged last week when Britain's Sunday Times published details of the loan and claims that BBC chief Richard Sharpe was among those who arranged the loan.
Richard Sharpe denied being involved in any loan deal, while Boris Johnson said full details of his financial interests had been revealed following the Sunday Times report.
But the question arises, why did Boris Johnson have to take out such a large loan? Those who know Boris Johnson say they were not surprised to hear how much debt he has.
Sources working with Boris Johnson in the prime minister's office at 10 Downing Street said the former prime minister was "not a spendthrift" but the sum was "too high" to sustain his lifestyle during his time as prime minister. It wasn't much.
During his time as Prime Minister, there was speculation that Boris Johnson did not have enough money to pay child support, divorce costs and other bills.
When he took over as prime minister in July 2019, his salary was £154,908, excluding other sources of income. The average UK salary in 2021 was £33,000 per year.
There is no doubt that Boris Johnson faced a loss of income as he took on a higher role, first as Foreign Secretary in 2016 and then as Prime Minister in 2019.
"His income is down, so it's no surprise he decided to take out a loan," says Andrew Jameson, author of Boris Johnson: The Rise and Fall of the No. Troublemaker. position of prime minister.
It is true that Boris Johnson had a very successful career as a journalist, speaker and TV personality before becoming Prime Minister.
His main source of income was as a columnist for The Daily Telegraph newspaper. From July 2018 to July 2019, he was paid £22,916 a month by the paper for what he said was just 10 hours of work.
Parliamentary documents show he received large royalties for writing books, writing articles and speaking at events. From 2017 to the 2019 parliamentary session, Johnson earned £800,000 from work and other sources of income.
If these figures are true, then so is the amount owed by The Sunday Times.
