I’ve just ordered Peter Oborne’s book ‘Assault on the truth’ which, given that he was both an admirer, friend and colleague of Johnson, should be an interesting read, where he lists the consequences of johnson’s default position, lie first, worry afterwards.
I’m not naive enough to fail to recognise that porkies stem from many politicians on all sides, and this is one of the reasons the political class has fallen into disrepute. However Johnson has taken this to a new level. Where past party leaders have usually taken extreme care over their utterances, being too aware of the consequences for a leader caught lying, Johnson has no such qualms. What worries me is that no one cares about his lying; it’s so regular, that like Trump he’s seen to be just exaggerating in a ‘good old Boris’ fashion.
All until now. We see repeated viewings on the media of Johnson standing in front of a Northern Ireland gathering last year giving a categoric assurance there will be no customs border of any sort around the province. This time the consequences could be dire, even potential injury and loss of life, such is the tinder-box of Ulster. Hope my fears prove unjustified.