208 Facts About Boris Johnson

Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson was born on 19 June 1964 and is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022.

Boris Johnson was previously Foreign Secretary from 2016 to 2018 and Mayor of London from 2008 to 2016.

Boris Johnson was Member of Parliament for Henley from 2001 to 2008 and for Uxbridge and South Ruislip from 2015 to 2023.

Boris Johnson became a member of the Shadow Cabinet of Michael Howard in 2001 before being dismissed over a claim that he had lied about an extramarital affair.

Boris Johnson was elected mayor of London in 2008 and resigned from the House of Commons to focus his attention on the mayoralty.

Boris Johnson was re-elected mayor in 2012, but did not run for re-election in 2016.

Boris Johnson was a prominent figure in the Brexit campaign in the 2016 EU membership referendum.

Boris Johnson resigned from the position in 2018 in protest at both the Chequers Agreement and May's approach to Brexit.

Boris Johnson responded to the Russian invasion of Ukraine by imposing sanctions on Russia and authorising foreign aid and weapons shipments to Ukraine.

Boris Johnson was succeeded as prime minister by Liz Truss, his foreign secretary.

Boris Johnson remained in the House of Commons as a backbencher until June 2023, when he received the draft of the Commons Privileges Committee investigation into his conduct that unanimously found that he had lied to the Commons on numerous occasions.

Boris Johnson's supporters have praised him for being humorous, witty and entertaining, with an appeal that reaches beyond traditional Conservative Party voters, viewing him as an electoral asset to the party.

Boris Johnson's tenure encompassed several controversies and scandals, and is viewed as the most scandalous premiership of modern times by historians and biographers alike.

Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson was born on 19 June 1964 in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York City, to Stanley Johnson, then studying economics at Columbia University, and Charlotte Fawcett, an artist, whose father Sir James Fawcett, was a prominent barrister and president of the European Commission of Human Rights from 1972 to 1981.

Boris Johnson is one of only two British prime ministers to have been an American citizen.

Boris Johnson's parents returned to the UK in September 1964 so Charlotte could study at the University of Oxford.

Boris Johnson lived with her son in Summertown, Oxford, and in September 1965 she gave birth to a daughter, Rachel.

Boris Johnson's father was regularly absent, leaving Johnson to be raised largely by his mother, assisted by au pairs.

In 1970 Charlotte and the children briefly returned to Nethercote, where Boris Johnson attended Winsford Village School, before returning to London to settle in Primrose Hill, where they were educated at Primrose Hill Primary School.

Boris Johnson gained a King's Scholarship to study at Eton College, a boarding school near Windsor, Berkshire.

Boris Johnson denounced Catholicism and joined the Church of England.

Boris Johnson's friends were largely from the wealthy upper classes; his best friends were Darius Guppy and Charles Spencer.

Boris Johnson excelled in English and the Classics, winning prizes in both, and became secretary of the school debating society and editor of the school newspaper.

Boris Johnson won a scholarship to read Literae humaniores at Balliol College, Oxford, a four-year course in Classics, ancient languages, literature, history, and philosophy.

In 1984, Boris Johnson was elected secretary of the Oxford Union, and campaigned unsuccessfully for the position of Union President.

In 1986, Boris Johnson ran successfully for President, but his term was not distinguished or memorable, and questions were raised regarding his competence and seriousness.

At graduation, Boris Johnson was awarded an upper second-class degree, and was deeply unhappy he did not receive a first.

Scandal erupted when Boris Johnson wrote an article for the newspaper on the archaeological discovery of Edward II's palace, having invented a quote which he falsely attributed to the historian Colin Lucas, his godfather.

Boris Johnson secured employment on the lead-writing desk of The Daily Telegraph, having met its editor, Max Hastings, while at university.

Boris Johnson's articles appealed to the newspaper's Conservative-voting "Middle England" readership, and he was known for his distinctive literary style, replete with old-fashioned phrasing and for regularly referring to the readership as "my friends".

In early 1989, Boris Johnson was appointed to the newspaper's Brussels bureau to report on the European Commission, remaining in the post until 1994.

Boris Johnson wrote that euro notes made people impotent and that a plan to blow up the Berlaymont building was in place because asbestos cladding made the building too dangerous to inhabit.

The Europhile Conservative politician Chris Patten later said that Boris Johnson was "one of the greatest exponents of fake journalism".

Boris Johnson's articles exacerbated tensions between the Conservative Party's Eurosceptic and Europhile factions.

Boris Johnson's writings were a key influence on the emergence of the eurosceptic UK Independence Party in the early 1990s.

Conrad Black, then proprietor of The Daily Telegraph, said Boris Johnson "was such an effective correspondent for us in Brussels that he greatly influenced British opinion on this country's relations with Europe".

Boris Johnson began a relationship with childhood friend Marina Wheeler, who had moved to Brussels in 1990.

Under the influence of this milieu and of his wife, Boris Johnson moved in a more liberal direction on issues such as climate change, LGBT rights and race relations.

Boris Johnson's column received praise for being ideologically eclectic and distinctively written, and earned him Commentator of the Year Award at the What the Papers Say awards.

In 1993, Boris Johnson outlined his desire to run as a Conservative in the 1994 European Parliament elections.

Boris Johnson turned his attention to obtaining a seat in the House of Commons instead.

Boris Johnson agreed, although he expressed concern that he would be associated with the attack.

Boris Johnson was given a regular column in The Spectator, sister publication to The Daily Telegraph, which attracted mixed reviews and was often thought rushed.

The large number of parking fines that Boris Johnson acquired while testing cars frustrated staff.

Boris Johnson was invited back on to later episodes, including as a guest presenter; for his 2003 appearance, Johnson was nominated for the BAFTA Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance.

Boris Johnson's editorship drew criticism; some opined that under him The Spectator avoided serious issues, while colleagues became annoyed that he was regularly absent from the office, meetings, and events.

Boris Johnson gained a reputation as a poor political pundit because of incorrect political predictions.

Journalist Charlotte Edwardes wrote in The Times in 2019 that Boris Johnson had squeezed her thigh at a private lunch at the Spectator in 1999 and that another woman had told her he had done the same to her.

In 2004, Boris Johnson published an editorial in The Spectator after the murder of Ken Bigley suggesting that Liverpudlians were wallowing in their victim status and "hooked on grief" over the Hillsborough disaster, which Boris Johnson partly blamed on "drunken fans".

Alongside his Islington home, Boris Johnson bought a farmhouse outside Thame in his new constituency.

Boris Johnson regularly attended Henley social events and occasionally wrote for the Henley Standard.

In Parliament, Boris Johnson was appointed to a standing committee assessing the Proceeds of Crime Bill, but missed many of its meetings.

Boris Johnson attended around half of Commons votes, usually supporting the Conservative party line.

In 2001 Boris Johnson had spoken out against plans to repeal Section 28, saying it was "Labour's appalling agenda, encouraging the teaching of homosexuality in schools".

Boris Johnson remained editor of The Spectator, while writing columns for The Daily Telegraph and GQ, and making television appearances.

Boris Johnson had a strained relationship with Duncan Smith, and The Spectator became critical of his party leadership.

Duncan Smith was succeeded by Michael Howard in November 2003; Howard deemed Boris Johnson to be the most popular Conservative politician with the electorate and appointed him vice-chairman of the party, responsible for overseeing its electoral campaign.

In November 2004, the tabloids revealed that since 2000 Boris Johnson had been having an affair with Spectator columnist Petronella Wyatt, resulting in two abortions.

Boris Johnson denied the allegations but they were subsequently proven to be true, and Howard dismissed him as vice-chairman and shadow arts minister when he refused to resign.

At the 2005 general election, Boris Johnson was re-elected MP for Henley.

Labour won the election and Howard stood down as Conservative leader; Boris Johnson backed David Cameron as his successor.

Interested in streamlining university funding, Boris Johnson supported Labour's proposed top-up fees.

Boris Johnson campaigned in 2006 to become the Rector of the University of Edinburgh, but his support for top-up fees damaged his campaign, and he came third.

Boris Johnson presented a popular history television show, The Dream of Rome, which was broadcast in January 2006; a book followed in February.

Boris Johnson's campaign focused on reducing youth crime, making public transport safer, and replacing the articulated buses with an updated version of the AEC Routemaster.

Boris Johnson subsequently announced his intention to stand down as MP for Henley.

Many in the Conservative Party initially distanced themselves from Boris Johnson's administration, fearing it would be damaging for the 2010 general election.

Boris Johnson was accused of warning Damian Green that police were planning to arrest him; Boris Johnson denied the claims.

Boris Johnson was accused of cronyism, in particular for appointing Veronica Wadley as the chair of London's Arts Council.

Boris Johnson remained a popular figure in London with a strong celebrity status in the city.

Boris Johnson was accused of failing to publish an independent report on air pollution commissioned by the Greater London Authority, which revealed the city breached legal limits on nitrogen dioxide levels.

Boris Johnson retained Livingstone projects such as Crossrail and the 2012 Olympic Games, but was accused of trying to take credit for them.

Boris Johnson introduced a public bicycle scheme that had been mooted by Livingstone's administration; colloquially known as "Boris Bikes", the part privately financed system was a significant financial loss but proved popular.

Boris Johnson ordered the construction of a cable car system that crossed the River Thames between the Greenwich Peninsula and the Royal Docks.

Boris Johnson's first policy initiative was a ban on drinking alcohol on public transport.

Boris Johnson announced plans to extend pay-as-you-go Oyster cards to national rail services in London.

Boris Johnson tried placating critics who had deemed him a bigot by appearing at London's gay pride parade and praising ethnic minority newspapers.

Boris Johnson broke from the traditional protocol of those in public office not publicly commenting on other nations' elections by endorsing Barack Obama for the 2008 United States presidential election.

Boris Johnson appointed himself chair of the Metropolitan Police Authority, and in October 2008 successfully pushed for the resignation of Metropolitan Police Commissioner Ian Blair, after Blair was criticised for allegedly handing contracts to friends and for his handling of the death of Jean Charles de Menezes.

Boris Johnson resigned as chairman of the MPA in January 2010, but throughout his mayoralty was highly supportive of the Metropolitan Police, particularly during the controversy surrounding the death of Ian Tomlinson.

Boris Johnson was criticised for his response to the 2011 London riots.

Boris Johnson maintained extensive personal contacts throughout the British media, which resulted in widespread favourable press coverage of his administration.

Boris Johnson's announcement was criticised by Labour for the perceived politicisation of this nominally independent panel.

Up for re-election in 2012, Boris Johnson again hired Crosby to orchestrate his campaign.

Boris Johnson's campaign emphasised the accusation that Livingstone was guilty of tax evasion, for which Livingstone called Boris Johnson a "bare-faced liar".

Boris Johnson improved transportation around London by making more tickets available and adding buses around the capital when thousands of spectators were temporary visitors.

Boris Johnson was accused of covering up pollution ahead of the games by deploying dust suppressants to remove air particulates near monitoring stations.

In November 2013, Boris Johnson announced major changes to the operation of the London Underground, including the extension of operating hours.

Arcuri and her company, Innotech, were awarded substantial government grants, and Boris Johnson intervened to allow her onto three trade mission trips.

The Sunday Times said in September 2019 that Boris Johnson failed to declare his personal relationship as a conflict of interest.

In 2015, Boris Johnson criticised then-presidential candidate Donald Trump's false comments that there were no-go zones in London inaccessible for non-Muslims.

Boris Johnson said Trump was "betraying a quite stupefying ignorance that makes him frankly unfit to hold the office of President of the United States", becoming the first senior politician in the UK to declare Trump unfit for office, but rejecting calls for him to be banned from the country.

Boris Johnson did not run for a third mayoral and stepped down on 5 May 2016 following the election.

In February 2016, Boris Johnson endorsed Vote Leave in the "Out" campaign for the 2016 European Union membership referendum.

Boris Johnson supported Vote Leave's statement that the government was committed to Turkish accession to the EU.

Boris Johnson was widely regarded as the front-runner to succeed him.

Boris Johnson announced he would not stand in the Conservative leadership election.

Shortly before this, Michael Gove, hitherto a Boris Johnson ally, concluded that Boris Johnson "cannot provide the leadership or build the team for the task ahead".

Boris Johnson's appointment ensured he would often be out of the country and unable to mobilise backbenchers against her, while forcing him to take responsibility for problems caused by withdrawing from the EU.

Boris Johnson's tenure attracted criticism from diplomats and foreign policy experts.

Boris Johnson's visit to Turkey in September 2016 was somewhat tense because he had won Douglas Murray's offensive poetry competition about the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, four months earlier.

When questioned by a journalist whether he would apologise for the poem, Boris Johnson dismissed the matter as "trivia".

Boris Johnson pledged to help Turkey join the EU and expressed support for Erdogan's government.

Boris Johnson described the Gulen movement as a "cult" and supported Turkey's post-coup purges.

In May 2018, Boris Johnson backed the Iran nuclear deal framework, despite Donald Trump's withdrawal.

Boris Johnson promised while in Northern Ireland that Brexit would leave the Irish border "absolutely unchanged".

Boris Johnson visited Anguilla and Tortola in September 2017 to confirm the UK's commitment to helping restore British territories devastated by Hurricane Irma.

Boris Johnson condemned the persecution of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, comparing the situation with the displacement of Palestinians in 1948.

Boris Johnson supported the Turkish invasion of northern Syria aimed at ousting the Syrian Kurds from Afrin.

Boris Johnson travelled without security protection or other officials, and did not document the trip, which led to accusations of Johnson having misled parliament.

Boris Johnson stated that "no government business was discussed" at the event as far as he was aware.

Boris Johnson granted a peerage to Evgeny in 2020, against the advice of the MI6, and met with criticism over potential security concerns.

In January 2019, Boris Johnson came under criticism for remarks he had made during the 2016 Leave campaign regarding the prospect of Turkish accession to the European Union; he denied making such remarks.

The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards found the errors were not inadvertent, and that Boris Johnson had failed on nine occasions to make declarations within the rules.

Boris Johnson advocated removing the backstop from any Brexit deal.

Boris Johnson was elected leader with 92,153 votes to Hunt's 46,656.

Boris Johnson declared his intention to re-open negotiations, but talks did not immediately resume as the EU refused to accept Boris Johnson's condition that the backstop be removed.

Boris Johnson's motion was unsuccessful as it failed to command the support of two-thirds of the House.

Boris Johnson continued to shake hands publicly in the following days.

Boris Johnson later said that he had been given emergency oxygen while in intensive care, and that doctors had made preparations in case he died.

The Boris Johnson ministry was accused of cronyism in their assignment of contracts related to the pandemic response.

In October 2020 Boris Johnson conceded that the UK's test and trace system and its specially developed contact tracing app, which had been criticised for their cost and operational issues, had caused "frustrations".

In July 2021 Boris Johnson announced that most generalised public health restrictions in England would be lifted and replaced by recommendations.

In September 2021 Boris Johnson was pictured in a cabinet meeting, with "at least 30 people crammed shoulder-to-shoulder", without anyone wearing masks and with all windows apparently closed, contradicting government advice.

In 2019, Boris Johnson promised to reduce net migration to the United Kingdom below 250,000 per year by the next election.

In 2021, Boris Johnson's government launched a scheme for Hongkongers following the Hong Kong national security law, with more than 200,000 Hong Kong residents immigrating to the UK.

However, Lord Geidt expressed that it was "unwise" for Boris Johnson to have proceeded without "more rigorous regard for how this would be funded".

In November 2021 Boris Johnson backed a motion to block the suspension of Owen Paterson, a Conservative MP found to have abused his position by the independent standards commissioner after undertaking paid lobbying.

On 12 January 2022, Boris Johnson apologised to MPs in the Commons for "attending an event in the Downing Street garden during the first lockdown", stating he believed it was "a work event".

Boris Johnson said that MPs should await the outcome of the independent inquiry, led by senior civil servant Sue Gray, which he said "will report as soon as possible".

Boris Johnson therefore became the first prime minister in British history to have been sanctioned for breaking the law while in office.

Boris Johnson has deliberately misled the British people at every turn.

Boris Johnson said none of the evidence showed he "knowingly" misled Parliament.

The committee stated that Boris Johnson had "personal knowledge" over lockdown gatherings in No 10, which he could have disclosed.

Boris Johnson won the vote, with 211 in favour and 148 against.

Boris Johnson announced that he had no intention of changing or resigning; senior Conservatives accused him of increasingly "delusional" behaviour.

Ministers initially said that Boris Johnson was unaware of any specific complaints against Pincher when he was appointed as deputy chief whip.

The BBC then reported that an official complaint and subsequent investigation into Pincher, while he was at the Foreign Office, had confirmed his misconduct, and that Boris Johnson had been made aware at that time.

Many of the MPs stated that the Pincher affair had led them to change their minds on the suitability of Boris Johnson to be prime minister.

Some commentators noted that, while, as Boris Johnson said, Cincinnatus returned to his plough, he was later recalled to power.

In November 2020 Boris Johnson announced a 10-point plan for a "green industrial revolution", to include ending the sale of petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030, quadrupling the amount of offshore wind power capacity within a decade, funding emissions-cutting proposals, and spurning a proposed green post-COVID-19 recovery.

Boris Johnson's government placed importance on the "Special Relationship" with the United States.

Boris Johnson said in July 2019 that his government would be very "pro-China" in an interview with the Hong Kong broadcaster Phoenix TV.

Boris Johnson voiced support for Chinese president Xi Jinping's infrastructure investment effort, the Belt and Road Initiative, and promised to keep the United Kingdom "the most open economy in Europe" for Chinese investment.

Boris Johnson declined to describe the Chinese government's treatment of the Uyghur people as "genocide", despite use of the term by the United States.

Boris Johnson's government argued that genocide should be decided by the International Criminal Court.

On 8 July 2021 the day after saying he was "apprehensive" about the future of Afghanistan following what was then the impending withdrawal of US troops, while announcing the near completion of British troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, Boris Johnson expressed the view that there was "no military path to victory for the Taliban".

In May 2022, Boris Johnson readied a draft that would unilaterally change parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol, citing issues with medical supplies and cuts in VAT.

In November 2021 Boris Johnson warned that the European Union faces "a choice" between "sticking up for Ukraine" and approving the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline from Russia to Europe.

On 1 February 2022, Boris Johnson arrived in Kyiv on a diplomatic visit.

On 20 February 2022, Boris Johnson warned that Russia is planning the "biggest war in Europe since 1945" as Putin intends to invade and encircle Kyiv.

On 21 February 2022, Boris Johnson condemned Russia's diplomatic recognition of two self-proclaimed republics in Donbas.

On 24 February 2022, Boris Johnson condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and ensured the UK joined in international sanctions on Russian banks and oligarchs.

Boris Johnson later announced the UK would phase out Russian oil by the end of 2022.

On 9 April 2022, Boris Johnson travelled to Kyiv and met the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

In July 2022, Boris Johnson warned that it would be a mistake to cease fire and freeze the conflict.

In May 2023, Boris Johnson was referred to the police by the Cabinet Office regarding previously unknown potential breaches of COVID regulations between June 2020 and May 2021, to which Boris Johnson's office issued a statement criticising the "unfounded suggestions" which "has all the hallmarks of yet another politically motivated stitch-up".

Boris Johnson's resignation statement said he is "not alone in thinking that there is a witch-hunt under way, to take revenge for Brexit and ultimately to reverse the 2016 referendum result".

The report noted that had Boris Johnson still been an MP, the Committee would have recommended he be suspended from Parliament for 90 days.

The news website Politico Europe reported that Boris Johnson would be paid a "very-high six-figure sum".

Boris Johnson reportedly informed the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments half an hour before the columnist assignment was publicly announced.

The committee ruled that Boris Johnson committed a "clear breach" of the rules since he had not sought its advice on the matter within an appropriate timeframe.

In October 2023, Boris Johnson announced he would join the television channel GB News as a commentator and programme maker for the next general election and US presidential election.

Boris Johnson condemned Hamas' attack on Israel, saying "there can be no moral equivalence between the terrorism of Hamas and the actions of the Israeli Defense Forces".

Boris Johnson rejected calls for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip during the Gaza war, and criticised pro-Palestinian protests in the UK.

On 5 November 2023, Boris Johnson visited Israel to express solidarity.

In February 2024, Boris Johnson had a private meeting with the president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro.

In March 2024, The Times reported that Boris Johnson is expected to campaign for the Conservatives in the next General Election.

On 2 May 2024 Boris Johnson was turned away from his polling station for the Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner, after forgetting to bring valid photographic identification, a requirement of the Elections Act, which Boris Johnson introduced while in office.

Boris Johnson said that when he returned a few minutes later, with his driving licence, he was then able to vote.

Purnell stated that Boris Johnson regularly changed his opinion on political issues, commenting on what she perceived to be "an ideological emptiness beneath the staunch Tory exterior".

Boris Johnson evoked the discourse of popular sovereignty and anti-establishment populism to portray Parliament as seeking to "sabotage" Brexit, and in doing so, presented himself "as the true representative of 'the people'".

Boris Johnson expressed climate sceptical views in several columns, conflating the distinction between weather and climate and highlighting a factually incorrect claim by weather forecaster and conspiracy theorist Piers Corbyn that reduced solar activity could lead to a "mini-Ice Age".

In 2019 and 2020 Boris Johnson expressed support for the UK to have "net-zero" greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and spoke about increasing ambition for mitigating climate change through carbon capture and storage and a renewable energy transition.

In 2018, during Brexit negotiations, Boris Johnson called for Britain to leave the Single Market and advocated a more liberal approach to immigration than that of Prime Minister May He stated many people believed that Britain's EU membership had led to the suppression of British wages and said the EU was intent on creating a "superstate" that would seek to rob Britain of its sovereignty.

Boris Johnson stated his opposition to a referendum on the Brexit withdrawal agreement.

On 19 August 2019, Boris Johnson wrote a letter to the EU asking for the removal of the "backstop" accord.

Boris Johnson proposed building an Irish Sea Bridge, but he later scrapped this initiative.

Boris Johnson has said that "humour is a utensil that you can use to sugar the pill and to get important points across".

Boris Johnson is said to have a genuine desire to be liked.

Boris Johnson has been described as having a light-hearted and charming persona; many biographers and commentators suggest he has put significant effort into developing this version of himself.

Boris Johnson has been described as heavily focused on his own interests, with an often vitriolic or irresponsible way of conducting himself in private.

Boris Johnson has been described as a divisive, controversial figure in British politics.

Boris Johnson has been accused of lying or making misleading statements throughout his career, and has been compared to US president Donald Trump.

Boris Johnson has been considered a figure with broad appeal outside of the usual Conservative support base.

Boris Johnson's premiership has been described by historians as the most controversial and scandal-affected since that of David Lloyd George about a century earlier.

Since Boris Johnson was born in New York City to British parents, he held British-American dual citizenship.

Boris Johnson has knowledge of French, Italian, German, Spanish, Latin and Ancient Greek, frequently making classical allusions in his newspaper columns and his speeches.

Sonia Purnell wrote in 2011 that Boris Johnson was a "highly evasive figure" when it came to his personal life, who remained detached from others and who had few intimate friends.

In 2007, Boris Johnson said he had smoked cannabis before he went to university.

Boris Johnson partakes in cycling, tennis and pilates, and returned to road running in 2023.

Boris Johnson was considered obese in 2018 and overweight in 2020, and has spoken of making efforts to lose weight.

Boris Johnson was baptised Catholic and later confirmed in the Church of England, but has said that his faith "comes and goes" and that he is not a serious practising Christian.

Boris Johnson holds ancient Greek statesman Pericles as a personal hero.

In 1987, Boris Johnson married Allegra Mostyn-Owen, daughter of the art historian William Mostyn-Owen and Italian writer Gaia Servadio.

The couple's marriage ended in divorce or annulment in 1993 and 12 days later Boris Johnson married Marina Wheeler, a barrister, daughter of journalist Charles Wheeler.

Between 2000 and 2004, Boris Johnson had an affair with Spectator columnist Petronella Wyatt when he was its editor, resulting in a terminated pregnancy and a miscarriage.

In 2009, Boris Johnson fathered a daughter with Helen Macintyre, an arts consultant.

In 2019, Boris Johnson was living with Carrie Symonds, the daughter of Matthew Symonds, co-founder of The Independent newspaper.

Boris Johnson and Symonds became engaged in late 2019 and their son, Wilfred, was born in April 2020.

On 29 May 2021 Boris Johnson married Symonds at Westminster Cathedral.

Boris Johnson's younger siblings are Rachel Johnson, a writer and journalist, Leo Johnson, a broadcaster, and Jo Johnson, ex-minister of state and former Conservative MP for Orpington, who resigned from his brother's government in September 2019 and is a member of the House of Lords.

Boris Johnson stood as a candidate for Change UK in the 2019 European Elections.

Boris Johnson has two half-siblings, Julia and Maximilian, through his father's later marriage to Jennifer Kidd.

Boris Johnson's paternal grandfather, Wilfred Boris Johnson, was an RAF pilot in Coastal Command during the Second World War.

Wilfred Boris Johnson's father was the Ottoman Interior Minister and journalist Ali Kemal.

Boris Johnson's mother is the granddaughter of Elias Avery Lowe, a palaeographer and a Russian Jewish immigrant to the US, and Pennsylvania-born Helen Tracy Lowe-Porter, a translator of Thomas Mann.

Johnson was given the middle name "Boris" after a White Russian emigre named Boris Litwin, who was a friend of his parents.