Former chancellor George Osborne has been appointed editor of one of the country’s best read newspapers.
The Tory MP, who was sacked by Theresa May last year, will take up the reins of the London Evening Standard in May.
He replaces Sarah Sands, who is moving to the BBC.
Mr Osborne, who met staff yesterday, reportedly said: “I need to learn from you lot. I’ve run the country, but I’ve never run a newspaper.”
He will edit four days a week, but will not stand down as Tatton MP, provoking a storm of criticism.
“We will be fearless as a paper fighting for their (Londoners’) interests,” he said.
“We will judge what the government, London’s politicians and the political parties do against this simple test: is it good for our readers and good for London?”
In a statement, Evgeny Lebedev, the paper’s owner, said: “I am proud to have an editor of such substance, who reinforces the Evening Standard’s standing and influence in London and whose political viewpoint – liberal on social issues and pragmatic on economic ones – closely matches those of many of our readers.”
The former Cabinet minister’s new job comes on top of a £650,000-a-year post working for a US asset management fund, announced last week.
He told the Commons Register of Members’ Interests he expected to be paid £162,500 every three months for 12 days working as an “adviser on the global economy” for the BlackRock Investment Institute.
This is in addition to his £74,000 backbench MP salary, while he has also registered more than £780,000 in payments for making 14 speeches since last September.
The Standard said Mr Osborne’s new role would allow him time to work in parliament in the afternoon after the paper has gone to print.
And he is now seeking the advice of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments on his new role.
Reacting to the news, former Labour leader Ed Miliband joked he would shortly be announced as the editor of Heat magazine and Liberal Democrat chief Tim Farron suggested he should apply to edit Viz.
A spokesman for Jeremy Corbyn said the appointment made a “mockery” of media independence and “insulted” Mr Osborne’s constituents.
Angus Reilly, chairman of the Tatton Constituency Labour Party, said Mr Osborne should not continue as an MP.
