Every day Boris Johnson stays in Downing Street, he heaps more shame on the highest elected office in the country.
As if his falsehoods and disregard for the rules were not bad enough, it is now alleged he has taken to blackmailing MPs.
According to the Tory MP Sir William Wragg, backbenchers who were reluctant to support him over Partygate were threatened with a loss of constituency funding or being smeared in the media.
Sir William is so appalled by these heavy-handed tactics that he has urged his colleagues to report them to the police.
The Prime Minister’s claim he was not aware of such practices is as implausible, as is his claim nobody told him the parties in No10 were illegal. He should be governing for the whole country. Instead he seems to be using public funds as the tools of extortion.
If Boris Johnson is allocating public money to buy the loyalty of an MP whose support he needs to stay in office, that is the behaviour not of a Prime Minister, but of a mobster.
Oppose Putin
Vladimir Putin’s annexation of Crimea showed the Russian leader has no respect for international borders.
That is why the West is so alarmed by the increasing belligerent language from the Kremlin over his next target Ukraine.
There are now more than 120,000 Russian troops on the country’s border, and it is feared an invasion could be imminent.
The failure of Western nations in the past few years to stand up to Russian aggression has only emboldened the country’s President.
The best way to avoid a conflict is through international dialogue. But diplomacy will only work if it is backed by a show of steel and unity.
Crossed over...
Alex Best is convinced the ghost of her football star former husband George has been haunting her home.
To be fair, he has form. He used to spook defenders with his silky dribbling skills.
