Hodder and Stoughton, a publisher, is reportedly still waiting for a manuscript from Mr Johnson on the life of William Shakespeare, which had been intended for publication to coincide with the 400-year anniversary of the bard’s death in 2016.
The book deal came attached to an £88,000 advance, but the publisher later “agreed that we would delay publication until a more suitable time” following his appointment as Foreign Secretary.
Guto Harri, Mr Johnson’s director of communications, denied rumours he had been keeping notes from his five months in Downing Street with the intention of publishing a memoir.
Sir Tony Blair’s memoir, a Journey, is thought to have earned him up to £5 million, while his spin doctor Alastair Campbell has written an eight-volume diary about his time in office and beyond.
Another option would be for Mr Johnson to return to after-dinner speaking, which previously netted him up to £50,000 in a single evening.
“Like most of his predecessors, from Churchill to Blair, he’ll be in great demand outside his own country,” said his former agent, Jeremy Lee.
“In commercial terms, Johnson’s a global brand with a reputation for colourful speeches – I can see audiences from the US to Asia in the palm of his hand.”
A government source added wryly: “If Theresa May is making 60 grand per speech, then I think Boris will probably be okay.”
Hope remains
Although the Tory leadership contest that will decide his successor has now consumed Westminster, there are those who still believe Mr Johnson has not made his last political move.
