The former chancellor George Osborne – who until September 2016 was in the government, and is still the Conservative MP for Tatton – has been unveiled as the new editor of the Evening Standard, London's biggest newspaper.

Osborne's dramatic hire by the Standard's owner, Russian billionaire Evgeny Lebedev, has been met with a mixture of shock and fury across politics and the media.

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The 45-year-old, who was once rejected for a graduate journalist job at The Times early on in his career, insists he will stay on as an MP.

"I am proud to be a Conservative MP, but as editor and leader of a team of dedicated and independent journalists, our only interest will be to give a voice to all Londoners," Osborne said.

"We will be fearless as a paper fighting for their interests. We will judge what the government, London's politicians and the political parties do against this simple test: is it good for our readers and good for London? If it is, we'll support them. If it isn't, we'll be quick to say so."

Many people are scratching their heads about the decision. These are six big questions around Osborne's hire that need answers quickly.

1. How can he fully represent his constituency in Cheshire and edit a daily newspaper?

2. Will the Tories make him choose between the two?

3. How can he properly hold to account a government he was a major part of less than a year ago?

4. Why did he get the editor's job when he has minimal journalistic experience?

5. Will the Evening Standard's journalists fight against the hire?

6. How much will he be paid as editor on top of the hundreds of thousands he already earns giving speeches and doing consultancy work outside of his job as an MP?

George Osborne