George Osborne appointed editor of London's Evening Standard

The paper’s proprietor, Evgeny Lebedev, who also owns The Independent, wrote on Twitter: “Thrilled to announce the new editor of the Evening Standard is George Osborne.

Hold the front page! Shocked and baffled reactions to George Osborne’s London Evening Standard role

“I am proud to have an editor of such substance, who reinforces the Standard’s standing and influence in London and whose political viewpoint - socially liberal and economically pragmatic - closely matches that of many of our readers.

“George is London through and through and I am confident he is the right person to build on the fantastic legacy of Sarah Sands.”

Mr Osborne, who was sacked as chancellor by incoming Prime Minister Theresa May last year, replaced the current editor Sarah Sands, who is leaving the Standard after five years to join the BBC.

He will take up his role in early May, editing the paper an average of four days a week.

The newspaper said: “The Standard’s schedule will enable Mr Osborne to edit the paper and continue to fulfil his other commitments, including as an MP; giving him the time to vote and contribute in Parliament in the afternoon after the paper has gone to print, and be in his constituency.

“He will edit the paper an average of four days a week.”

Mr Osborne is said to have intended to pursue a career in journalism before entering politics.

According to his Wikipedia page, he was shortlisted for but failed to gain a place on The Times trainee scheme. He also applied to The Economist, but was interviewed and rejected.

He later worked as a freelance for the Peterborough diary column of The Daily Telegraph.

Mr Osborne remains MP for Tatton in Cheshire, a safe Tory seat he has held since 2001. In the 2015 election he had a majority of 18,241.