Boris Johnson has broken the rules yet again by taking a big money job as a newspaper columnist.
The ex-PM is understood to be raking in £1million over two years for his new role at the Daily Mail, as he cashes in on his disastrous time in No10.
But he has failed to get permission from the appointments watchdog, Acoba.
Under the ministerial code, former ministers must seek clearance from the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments before accepting any new roles within two years of leaving office.
The watchdog said he had committed a “clear breach” of the rules by only informing it of the job half an hour before the public announcement.
It is the second time Mr Johnson has broken the rules.
In 2018, after resigning as Foreign Secretary he returned to his role as a £275,000-a-year columnist at the Daily Telegraph without getting prior approval from Acoba.
The watchdog’s chair, former Tory Cabinet minister Lord Pickles, will write to the ex-PM to demand an explanation.
A spokeswoman for Acoba said: "The Ministerial Code states that Ministers must ensure that no new appointments are announced, or taken up, before the Committee has been able to provide its advice.
"An application received 30 mins before an appointment is announced is a clear breach.
"We have written to Mr Johnson for an explanation and will publish correspondence in due course, in line with our policy of transparency."
Despite repeatedly breaking the rules, it is likely Mr Johnson will get away with a slap on the wrists as the toothless body does not have the power to sanction former ministers who do not follow its advice.
Mr Johnson has landed his new column - just days after quitting as an MP over a damning Partygate report.
The newspaper this morning teased an "erudite new columnist who'll be required reading in Westminster and across the world" alongside a blacked out silhouette figure.
In a damning report on Thursday, the Privileges Committee found that Mr Johnson had repeatedly misled MPs over lockdown-busting gatherings in No10.
It also accused him of being “complicit” in a “campaign of abuse and attempted intimidation” against its seven members.
The committee said Mr Johnson would have faced a 90-day suspension from Parliament if he had not resigned in anger before the publication of its report.
MPs will decide on Monday whether to accept its recommendation that he should be banned from holding a Commons pass usually given to former members so they can still access the parliamentary estate.
Mr Johnson’s columns are likely to cause a headache for Rishi Sunak.
Downing Street declined to comment on the news that the former PM is going back to writing.
Asked whether Mr Sunak is looking forward to reading his predecessor's column, a No10 spokesman said: "That's not a matter for Government and it's not a question I've asked him specifically."
In 2018, Mr Johnson was accused of Islamophobia after writing that Muslim women wearing burkas "look like letter boxes" in his Telegraph column.
A spokesman for Mr Johnson said he was "in touch with Acoba". They insisted "the normal process is being followed" even though he has not received approval before taking the job as required under the rules.
The spokesman declined to comment on whether the former PM was £1million over two years.
In a video teaser, Mr Johnson promised to offer uncensored views in his column.
“It is going to be completely unexpurgated stuff," he said.
“I may even have to cover politics, but I’ll obviously try to do that as little as possible unless I absolutely have to."
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