Ah FFS.
British politician Boris Johnson, known for his roles as former Foreign Secretary, former Mayor of London and his staunch support of the Leave campaign, was paid €58,230 for his speech last month at the Pendulum business empowerment conference in Dublin.
The latest register of MPs’ financial interests showed that Johnson received the enormous sum from the Irish firm Pendulum Events for his speech.
The summit had a number of different ticketing levels, ranging from €795-€950, although prices for the Diamond tickets were not revealed.
Johnson’s appearance at the Summit consisted of a 54 minute speech to the assembled crowd, an on-stage interview with RTÉ’s Bryan Dobson as well as some meet and greet opportunities with VIPs.
The interview with Dobson was strained as Johnson was quizzed on incorrect statements he made during the Brexit referendum, culminating in a testy exchange.
Dobson asked Johnson whether he knew the value of Northern Ireland exports to the Republic, with Johnson responding, “It can only go up.”
At this point, Johnson snatched Dobson’s notes for the interview and read through them on stage before remarking they were “heavily scripted”.
But Dobson very quickly responded, to the delight of the crowd: “I’ll let you keep that. You might find it useful.”
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Aideen McQueen – Faith healers, Coolock craic and Gigging as Gaeilge
