Peter Oborne (We know Boris Johnson is a liar but Rishi Sunak promised truth and integrity. Where is it?, 23 May) is right that the disease of deceit is wrecking British politics, and the reason for it is Brexit. Even one of its fiercest advocates, Nigel Farage, now accepts that Brexit has been an utter failure, but of course the Tory government, with no other notable achievements to its name, can never admit this. Therefore, it has to lie, pretending away all the problems it has caused, and inventing benefits.
Theresa May was discarded by her party because she wasn’t willing to shamelessly lie about Brexit, and they sought a replacement who was. Boris Johnson’s premiership was hence merely a symptom of the disease, not the cause.
The whole Tory party is hitched to the wagon of Brexit lies, so the leader must be a liar, too. And when you routinely lie about one topic, it becomes second nature to lie about others. So honesty can never return to our government until we have a party in power that openly admits to all the disastrous effects of Brexit.
Dr Richard Milne
Edinburgh
• Peter Oborne’s article underlines the need to find a way of holding politicians to account at all times, not just during elections. We could do with an independent Office of Accountability, perhaps chosen by sortition with a chair appointed by the Speaker, which would, like the Office for Budget Responsibility, compare rhetoric with reality and promises with performance. It would need the power to decide on penalties for defaulting on pledges without satisfactory explanation. A regulator with the teeth to clamp down on liars would do much to restore the dwindling faith in our political culture.
Peter Buckman
Little Tew, Oxfordshire
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