UK's Boris Johnson Reprimanded for Failing to Report Income

By GREGORY KATZ

LONDON (AP) — A British parliamentary committee reprimanded former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson on Thursday for failing to report income within time limits set by Parliament.

Johnson acknowledged his mistake and apologized hours after the report was made public.

He said he was making “a full and unreserved apology” for his tardy financial reports.

Johnson was found to have failed to make timely income reports on nine recent occasions. The amount involved totaled more than $67,000.

The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards found “that registrations were late on four separate occasions, involving nine payments, which suggested a lack of attention to, or regard for, the House’s requirements.”

The breach was not judged to be minor or accidental.

Johnson is a prominent Brexit hardliner who resigned from his Cabinet position in July to protest Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit plan. He remains in Parliament and is bound by its reporting rules.

He was found to have failed to report outside income within 28 days as required. Most of the income came from royalties for books Johnson has authored and for his work as a journalist.

Income ranged from a payment of 37 pounds for French royalties for one of his books to a monthly payment of nearly 23,000 pounds for his column in The Daily Telegraph that began in August.

He also reported receiving two tickets “with hospitality” from the Surrey County Cricket Club for a match at The Oval. The tickets were valued at 1,800 pounds.

The statement published Thursday indicates that Johnson has apologized for “any unintended delay” in meeting reporting requirements.

The investigation began in October.