[Watchman]

As Mr McDandy said re martyrdom

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... e-war.html

[Crabcakes]

As Mr McDandy said re martyrdom

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... e-war.html

I would put a great deal of money on that call either not having happened, or more likely not being remotely as described. Because if it had - and there were absolutely any supporting evidence- we would have heard of it and how tough Boris is by now. Repeatedly, and at length.

Also no coincidence that buried at the end of that article are the latest actual, established facts of the Johnson loans for jobs debacle. Almost like they’re trying to trivialise the loan issue and Johnson’s blatant corruption by tying it directly to a war.

[Youngian]

If you recall the 90s, once Major’s government looked toast Fleet Street had nothing to lose setting the attack dogs on Tory MPs especially as they were such easy targets. Now they have the added incentive of fighting Boris’s corner by sticking the boot in.

Have we now passed peaked populism, is it safe to say the press barons are as potty as Johnson if they think they can launch a comeback?

[Youngian]

Putin has made barmier threats in public so he gets the benefit of the doubt

[Andy McDandy]

The Telegraph this morning has a front page devoted to "friends" of Zahawi saying he's been fitted up, and the Mail and Express both went with this.

Funnily enough over the weekend I was re-watching House of Cards (UK version), and what came to mind when I saw this was Urquhart stooge Roger O'Neill off his face at a party, trying to impress a young woman by claiming he was on an IRA hitlist.

[Crabcakes]

‘Fitted up’ in the sense of people finding out about exactly what he genuinely did do, doesn’t deny, and shows no remorse over?

I think they mean ‘bang to rights’, assuming they want to stick with 1970s police procedural language.

[Youngian]

Funnily enough over the weekend I was re-watching House of Cards (UK version), and what came to mind when I saw this was Urquhart stooge Roger O'Neill off his face at a party, trying to impress a young woman by claiming he was on an IRA hitlist.

The relief Roger feels at a service station sign always comes to mind when busting for a piss on the motorway.

[Bones McCoy]

‘Fitted up’ in the sense of people finding out about exactly what he genuinely did do, doesn’t deny, and shows no remorse over?

I think they mean ‘bang to rights’, assuming they want to stick with 1970s police procedural language.

Friends of Z still slithering out to claim he's been mistreated.
One wonders how many "due processes" they think he should get.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

"Waa... privilege ignored... but he's rich... whatabout... Starmer's a millionaire... waa..."

[mattomac]

I think it’s “we are the Tories” we don’t need rules.

[Youngian]

Adam Afriyie claimed he knows many talented people who won’t go into politics afraid of having their private life turned over. This was his distraction defence of Zahawi who has apparently been unfairly pilloried by nasty press stories. Despite being true and very much about his public life as a minister and company director. Nice to see the Tories tasting their own poison.

[davidjay]

Back in the day even the Tories wouldn't touch someone with the slightest whiff of anything unpleasant in the background, not even at local level. This lot have ripped up the rule book, and hopefully it's coming back to bite them on the arse.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

John Profumo?
Ernest Marples?
Geoffrey Archer?
Cecil Parkinson?

[Watchman]

Bozo supposed to be considering a move back to Henley, with the possibility of becoming MP for there again.

I also noticed the following.

Johnson still owns a house in Thame, in the Henley constituency he represented from 2001 to 2008, according to the register of MPs’ interests.

This is not a cheap area of the country. Couldn't this have been sold to help with "money struggles"? To pluck a totally random figure, is the house worth £800k? Funny how Richard Sharp and Sam Blyth didn't suggest this before they approached the Cabinet Secretary,

My first thought was, the “ownership” was simply resting in my account while I looked after it for a “friend”, which then turned into, I wonder how many times he has used it already as collateral

[Youngian]

Profumo paid the price and then want on to be respected figure in the charity sector. That won’t be Johnson’s political trajectory (already runs a charity; himself) but hopefully it resembles Archer’s with a spell in chokey. Make it an unpleasant nick not playing Harry Grout in a Cat. C.

[Andy McDandy]

Also, by the charity sector, that for him meant volunteering at the sharp end. I get the impression that Johnson would see it as a well paid directorship with little work involved, and looking good on his public profile.

[Youngian]

‘Fitted up’ in the sense of people finding out about exactly what he genuinely did do, doesn’t deny, and shows no remorse over?

Yes, like Corbyn ‘smears,’ it’s articles and photos of stuff that he’s done.

[kreuzberger]

I really don't give the tiniest toss as to who is lying about the Putin - Johnson call. There will have been a horde of translators, stenographers, and sundry other civil servants on that call, yet I still couldn't care less.

A plague (or Exocet) on both their houses.

[Youngian]

I’m very interested to see how a whopper like this will play now power has faded around Johnson. Labour aren’t interested in a yesterday man but the press are still obsessed by him and this will only make their fandom look more ridiculous. Reinstate Johnson and we can retain some seats held by the likes of Lee Anderson, is a pitifully desperate strategy.

[davidjay]

John Profumo?
Ernest Marples?
Geoffrey Archer?
Cecil Parkinson?

That only happened after they were in office and once it came to light they were gone.