Dutch public broadcaster NTR will air a television program Wednesday evening about the lies, fabrications, and fantasy reports of the then British correspondent Boris Johnson at the European Union in Brussels. The current British Prime Minister was stationed at the EU as a reporter for the sensationalist newspaper Daily Telegraph from 1989 to 1994.
Dutch historian and program maker Hans Goedkoop looks back on this period in the program 'Andere Tijden' (NTR/VPRO). This history program is known for its thorough and well-founded retrospectives on past events.
Between 1989 and 1994, Boris Johnson worked as an EU correspondent in Brussels for The Daily Telegraph. The history magazine shows how he performed his work as a journalist. It provides an overview of the most improbable 'news' from Brussels that Johnson reported on at that time.
The then Europe correspondent conjured various 'EU proposals' out of thin air for his newspaper. Johnson reported that the European Union wanted to introduce a condom with a standard length. But that would be too small for the British and too big for the Italians. The correspondent also fabricated EU plans for a ban on crooked cucumbers and a requirement for British fishermen to wear hairnets.
His articles greatly fueled the anti-European sentiment in England. During the 2016 referendum on whether to leave the EU or not, anti-EU politicians used the rhetoric that had been poured over Great Britain for years by many British tabloids.
Johnson, who often made a loud impression at press conferences in Brussels, was not well-liked by politicians, spokespersons, and fellow journalists. But his readers relished his articles. Dutch and British former colleagues of the conservative prime minister speak in the Dutch television program.
According to recent statements by himself, Johnson would rather be found dead in a ditch than postpone the British departure from the EU again. The date of October 31 was sacred to him. But the renewed postponement happened, and the British will now elect a new parliament on December 12. For the third time in four years, there are general elections.