Boris Johnson was paid almost £43,000 for the speech that set Britain on course for a no-deal Brexit, sparking fresh criticism of his lucrative earnings.

The likely next prime minister pocketed the sum when he delivered his vow to leave the EU on 31 October “deal or no deal”, at an economic conference in Switzerland.

The lucrative speech – made within hours of Theresa May’s tearful resignation – was a toughening of Mr Johnson’s stance, immediately seen as making a crash-out Brexit far more likely.

With the EU refusing to renegotiate the existing divorce deal, it slashed the odds on a no-deal Halloween departure if, as expected, he grabs the Tory leadership crown later this month.

Matthew Pennycook, Labour’s shadow Brexit minister, said: “If you needed any more proof that Boris Johnson is out for himself and entirely unfit to be prime minister, then here it is.

“How on earth can he justify being paid tens of thousands of pounds to make a speech about his no deal plans that would be disastrous for working people across the country?”

Anna Soubry, the Change UK leader, said: “Boris Johnson was getting richer while setting the country on a path to getting poorer. Every time you think he couldn’t sink much lower, out comes more details of how unsuitable he is to be prime minister.”

Biggest lies told by Boris Johnson Show all 5 1 /5 Biggest lies told by Boris Johnson Biggest lies told by Boris Johnson Made-up quote for The Times Johnson was sacked from The Times newspaper in the late 1980s after he fabricated a quote from his godfather, the historian Colin Lucas, for a front-page article about the discovery of Edward II’s Rose Palace. “The trouble was that somewhere in my copy I managed to attribute to Colin the view that Edward II and Piers Gaveston would have been cavorting together in the Rose Palace,” he claimed. Alas, Gaveston was executed 13 years before the palace was built. “It was very nasty,” Mr Johnson added, before attempting to downplay it as nothing more than a schoolboy blunder. PA Biggest lies told by Boris Johnson Sacked from cabinet over cheating lie Michael Howard gave Boris Johnson two new jobs after becoming leader of the Conservatives in 2003 – party vice-chairman and shadow arts minister. He was sacked from both positions in November 2004 after assuring Mr Howard that tabloid reports of his affair with Spectator columnist Petronella Wyatt were false and an “inverted pyramid of piffle”. When the story was found to be true, he refused to resign. PA Biggest lies told by Boris Johnson Broken promise to boss In 1999 Johnson was offered editorship of The Spectator by owner Conrad Black on the condition that he would not stand as an MP while in the post. In 2001 he stood - and was elected - MP for Henley, though Black did allow him to continue as editor despite calling "ineffably duplicitous" PA Biggest lies told by Boris Johnson Misrepresenting the people of Liverpool As editor of The Spectator, he was forced to apologise for an article in the magazine which blamed drunken Liverpool fans for the 1989 Hillsborough disaster and suggested that the people of the city were wallowing in their victim status. “Anyone, journalist or politician, should say sorry to the people of Liverpool – as I do – for misrepresenting what happened at Hillsborough,” he said. PA Biggest lies told by Boris Johnson ‘I didn’t say anything about Turkey’ Johnson claimed in January, that he did not mention Turkey during the EU referendum campaign. In fact, he co-signed a letter stating that “the only way to avoid having common borders with Turkey is to vote Leave and take back control”. The Vote Leave campaign also produced a poster reading: “Turkey (population 76 million) is joining the EU”

And Tom Brake, the Liberal Democrat Brexit spokesman said: “Johnson is a man with no shame. He lines his pockets while millions around the country will pay a heavy price for his bluster, but Johnson won't be one of them.”

In Switzerland, on 24 May, the Tory leadership frontrunner told his audience: “We will leave the EU on 31 October, deal or no deal. The way to get a good deal is to prepare for a no deal.”

The refusal to consider another Article 50 extension charted the course for the contest, piling pressure on the other candidates to do the same.

It confirmed the fear of Tory moderates that the demands of the race – to be decided by the Europhobic Tory membership – would push the UK into an even more perilous Brexit stance.

The payment was revealed in the latest register of MP’s financial interests reading “received £42,580 from Swiss Economic Forum” for “a speaking engagement on 24 May 2019”.

The entry added: “Hours: 3hrs. Transport also provided for myself and a member of staff”.

Mr Johnson has increased his funding lead over Jeremy Hunt in the leadership race, registering £235,000 in the past two weeks, taking the total amount he has received in the last year to £502,000.

By comparison, Mr Hunt drew a blank – registering no additional donations in the last two weeks, the figures showed.