Gareth Johnson was born in Bromley on 12 October 1969, the son of a milkman. He attended Dartford Grammar School.[7] Before entering politics, Johnson worked in the Magistrates Court Service and as a solicitor in Dartford. He served for a time on the Board of Governors of Dartford Grammar School for Girls.
In local elections Johnson stood unsuccessfully as the Conservative candidate in the Danson ward of the London Borough of Bexley in 1994, before being elected in the Christchurch ward in 1998. He served one term of four years and did not stand for re-election in 2002.[8] He served as Constituency chairman for the Conservative Party in Bexley.[9]
Johnson is listed as being the chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on the Dominican Republic in December 2015.[18] He previously served as the vice-chairman of both the Retail APPG[19] and the British Sikhs APPG.[20] Johnson has also previously been a member of both the Child and Youth Crime APPG[21] and the BBC APPG.[22] In January 2016, Johnson led a Westminster Hall debate on congestion at the Dartford Crossing.[23][24]
In March 2023, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak appointed Gareth Johnson as his Trade Envoy to the United Arab Emirates. This is the first time the UK has appointed a Trade Envoy for this country.[34]
Johnson lives in the village of Hartley with his wife Wendy[36] and their two children.
Johnson employs his wife as a part-time Parliamentary Assistant on a salary up to £25,000.[37] He was listed in a 2015 article in The Daily Telegraph criticising the practice of MPs employing family members, on the lines that it promotes nepotism.[38] Although MPs who were first elected in 2017 have been banned from employing family members, the restriction is not retrospective – meaning that Johnson's employment of his wife is lawful.[39]
Notes
^As Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice.
^As Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Courts and Legal Services.
