Boris Johnson to avoid censure over Daily Mail job rules breach

Johnson broke the rules by telling Acoba he was becoming a Mail columnist only half an hour before the public announcement, the watchdog said. Photograph: Andrew Boyers/PA

Boris Johnson is to avoid censure for breaking the rules on ex-ministers taking up new jobs despite the government accepting he committed a breach over his appointment as a Daily Mail columnist.

Oliver Dowden, the deputy prime minister, told the post-government appointments watchdog on Thursday that it would be “disproportionate to undertake further action” other than acknowledging that there had been a breach.