THE new owner of The Scotsman newspaper group paid Boris Johnson a one-off fee of £94,000 to speak at a conference just days before they took over the struggling media group.
GoldenTree Asset management are lead investors in JPIMedia, the consortium of Johnston Press creditors who took control of the company’s assets in a so-called pre-pack administration last weekend.
And according to the latest Register of Members' Interests, published on the House of Commons website, they paid the former foreign secretary £94,507.85 for a “speaking engagement” on November 8, 2018.
READ MORE: This is why Unionists attacking Yessers over The Scotsman are hypocrites
GoldenTree Asset Management is a US hedge fund with offices in London and Singapore.
Johnston Press went into administration last week following a difficult time which saw the group struggling to find a way to pay £220m of debt due to be repaid in June next year.
The deal meant a substantial chunk of the debt was written off.
A JPIMedia statement said last week: “Our shareholders recognise the vital role that local and regional media plays in the communities they serve and remain committed to protecting and enhancing the value of the business in the future.”
However, despite JPIMedia saying it will offer a defined contribution pension scheme to all employees, union officials have warned any changes to future payments in line with pension protection fund payment rules would by a “terrible blow” to affected staff.
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