Former British PM Boris Johnson to visit Australia on book tour

Boris Johnson is gearing up to take Australia by storm this December, hitting Sydney and Melbourne with a two-day whirlwind tour to promote his new book, Unleashed, but tickets aren’t going cheap.

Controversial former British prime minister Boris Johnson is coming to Australia to promote his new autobiography, Unleashed. Picture: AFP

Boris Johnson has announced an Australian tour this December to promote his upcoming book, Unleashed, which delves into his time in power and the key decisions that shaped his often stormy political career.

The former British prime minister, who led the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022, will host a “long lunch” in Sydney on December 6, followed by dinner in Melbourne’s CBD the next evening. And if you’re itching for some face time with the man himself, prepare to fork out a cool $295 – though if you really want to make an evening of it, the VIP and Platinum packages (complete with a meet-and-greet and signed book copies) are also on the menu.

In his new book, which will be published on October 30, Mr Johnson takes readers through all the big decisions during his time in power and why he took them. The challenges and crises, how they were resolved, or not, and how he nearly died from Covid-19.

In his memoir, Mr Johnson writes about his role in Brexit and the constitutional change in British politics in 2019 with his landslide election victory. He led the Conservative Party to an extraordinary election victory, winning their biggest majority in the House of Commons since 1987.

Mr Johnson left the job of prime minister in 2022 following a mass revolt by ministers over his leadership, sparked by scandals including the Partygate affair.

In his official statement, Mr Johnson said he had decided to step down “for now” after an investigation into the lockdown parties that created outrage.

Mr Johnson accused the committee of mounting a “witch hunt” against him, determined to “drive me out of parliament”.

In addition to his work in politics, Mr Johnson is an award-­winning journalist, writer and editor. He edited the Spectator magazine for six years and has written for dozens of major publications including London’s Daily Telegraph.