Boris Implodes

"Posh bird Allegra Stratton joking about the 'alleged' lockdown party in Downing Street may be a tipping point."

Poor Boris Johnson has had a rough week. Much of it is his own doing - caught lying about Christmas parties at Nos 10 while the rest of the country was in lockdown. 

Now it also appears he prioritised the evacuation of dogs over people from Kabul in August. It doesn't look good. A Foreign Office whistle-blower made clear: time spent on dogs was not spent on people. Some of those people are now dead. 

Add to that Johnson's inability to secure the borders, sleaze allegations and the fact he can't keep the power on after a bit of rough weather. That clowning visage is starting to slip. 

And, oh yes, his wife Carrie delivered him of child number seven. But, of course, when I say seventh child, that is a guess because it's unclear how many kids the PM has fathered. It isn't easy to keep track when dealing with a randy alley-cat. 

So, Johnson's future is looking shaky. Many things could bring down the clown prince of British politics, but my money is on his many lies catching up with him. 

Posh bird Allegra Stratton joking about the 'alleged' lockdown party in Downing Street may be a tipping point. Her utter contempt for the law and the people denied the right to hold the hand of dying loved ones feeds straight into the 'them and us' narrative.

All these shenanigans lead back to the Johnson household. Stratton is Carrie Johnson's best mate. The suggestion is that connections helped Stratton get the job of PM's spokesperson. Moreover, Stratton's husband is the Political Editor of The Spectator magazine, somebody the PM would wish to keep on side. 

Somewhat like Ed Oldfield's father, the 23-year-old son is a special advisor to Johnson and joined in the fun about the 'alleged' party. But, Oldfield's father is a major Tory donor, so I'm confident this had nothing to do with young Oldfield getting a job at Nos 10. On the contrary, I've heard he advises on crucial matters such as making the tea and getting the pizzas in.

Looking from 6000 miles away, Johnson is a painful joke and a national embarrassment. But you can't say nobody warned us. Max Hastings, the respected editor of Daily Telegraph, fired Johnson, stating, "He is unfit for public office." 

On the back of all this, opposition leader Kier Stainer again couldn't land a killer blow during Prime Ministers Questions. So instead, the job fell to Dr Rosena Allin-Khan, MP for Tooting. She was working in intensive care during the lockdown.

She recalls weeping behind her mask as she watched an online call between three children and their mother, who had fallen unconscious. They were begging and pleading with her to wake up. Meanwhile, Nos 10 was in party mode. Dr Allin-Kan asked Johnson, "How do you sleep at night?"

That question landed a wallop to Johnson's solar plexus as all the usual flippant jest expelled. Before slumping back to the benches, a crestfallen Johnson rose to express his sympathy — the only possible response. 

And while the party stuff is a classic example of the cover-up proving more damaging than the actual event, the Kabul saga is far more troubling.

The rush from Kabul found the UK wanting on all fronts; a lack of capacity, a lack of urgency, a lack of planning, confused priorities and no leadership. If the evidence of whistle-blower Raphael Marshall is accurate, former Foreign Secretary, now Deputy PM, Dominic Raab should go. 

Raab was on holiday and couldn't understand the urgent briefs sent to him at the critical time. So he adopted the old tactic by seeking a rewrite and reformatting before deciding. These changes took valuable time; meanwhile, the clock ticked down as the Taliban closed in. 

Not helping matters are indulgent work/life balance policies that ensure FCO staff didn't get too stressed. So no night-shift.  Sad to say,  hard-pressed soldiers at Kabul had no such comfort.  

In the end, the UK left its people behind to face their fate at the hands of the Taliban. Reports suggest a 100 plus former staff from the British Embassy remain in hiding with little chance of rescue. Well done, Raab!

As I write, reports are coming in that Johnson may have also lied about who paid for the refurbishment of his flat. How many hits can this man fend off?

With a by-election next week, pundits will be watching the outcome. Tory backbenchers, who never wholly trusted Johnson, are waiting to pounce. If nothing else, the Tories are ruthless when exiting a leader, as Thatcher discovered. David Cameron's time at PM ended in disgrace after calling and losing a referendum on Europe. 

Johnson's time as PM may end because he lied to protect his indulgent wife's purchase of wallpaper. Oh, the indignity.