Boris Johnson withdrew from Tucker Carlson debate after Navalny death

Source: The Guardian

Boris Johnson withdrew from Tucker Carlson debate after Navalny death

Johnson had agreed to debate with rightwinger, who interviewed Putin, for $1m fee which his team says would have gone to charity

Rowena Mason Whitehall editor
Wed 21 Feb 2024 13.42 GMT
Last modified on Wed 21 Feb 2024 19.34 GMT

Boris Johnson withdrew from a debate with the US rightwinger and Putin interviewer Tucker Carlson after the death of Alexei Navalny, having previously agreed to the event for a $1m fee which his team says would have gone to charities for Ukrainian veterans.

Carlson, a former Fox News host known for having launched scathing attacks against the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, revealed on the rightwing news channel Blaze TV that Johnson had initially agreed to be interviewed.

The US presenter said he extended the invitation after becoming “annoyed” that Johnson had denounced him as a Kremlin stooge after his controversial interview with Putin that failed to challenge the Russian president over the bloodshed in Ukraine.

The TV host claimed that Johnson had demanded $1m but this was rejected as untrue by Johnson’s camp, who said the sum was offered by Carlson and the former prime minister would have given the money to charities for Ukrainian veterans.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/feb/21/boris-johnson-withdrew-from-tucker-carlson-debate-after-navalny-death