Nadine Dorries writing book on Boris Johnson’s downfall
Loyal ally to tell tale of former prime minister’s ‘political assassination’
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Your support makes all the difference.Boris Johnson’s dramatic final days in power will be the subject of a new book by Nadine Dorries, one of the former prime minister’s most loyal allies.
Ms Dorries, a minister throughout Mr Johnson’s tumultuous three years in Downing Street, is currently writing the book, set to be published next year, with a working title of The Political Assassination of Boris Johnson.
The ex-culture secretary said she was “baffled and bewildered” by the Conservative Party’s collective effort to oust Mr Johnson, who she described as “one of the world’s best leaders”.
Speaking to the Evening Standard, which broke news of her latest book, Ms Dorries said: “Events lately have been stranger than fiction and I will be drawing on that rich source material. It’s a political whodunnit.”
Her literary agent Piers Blofeld did not say which publisher had picked up her account but described it as “murder on the Downing Street express”.
The novel will likely be very sympathetic to Mr Johnson and could cause trouble for Rishi Sunak, the latest prime minister and a man who is widely seen to have put in motion the mass resignations which forced his former boss to resign this summer.
Mr Sunak’s depiction might well reflect the deep resentment of those on the Tory benches who felt that he stabbed Mr Johnson in the back.
Ms Dorries, an MP since 2005, has written 16 novels, many of them written during her parliamentary career. She has sold around three million copies and, according to the parliamentary register of interests, made around £15,000 this year in royalties and public lending rights.
Though she was earlier best known for her appearance on I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!, Ms Dorries has gained a public reputation of late for fiercely defending Mr Johnson from critics.
She quit as cabinet secretary Liz Truss’s government to return the backbenches, from where she condemned the then-prime minister for turning away from Mr Johnson’s policies. She later
Last week she said she was sick of people saying she must “fancy” Mr Johnson and rejected the idea that she was anything other than his friend.
She said: “I could ring Boris in the middle of the night if I had a problem and I know he would be there for hours talking to me. I had breakfast with him the other morning. Him and Carrie, I would count them both as good friends.”
Ms Dorries is said to be on the former prime minister’s list of nominations for peerages, along with fellow Tory MPs Alok Sharma, Alister Jack and Nigel Adams.
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