For nearly three hours Boris Johnson refused to look at his reflection in the mirror. To have done so would have been to glimpse at the truth.
It would have been to acknowledge his excuses were pitiful, his defence preposterous, his whole explanation for Partygate was built on the flimsiest of foundations.
Presented with evidence he had attended events that clearly broke the Covid guidance, he responded with snarls and indignation. Perhaps the least trustworthy person ever to hold the office of Prime Minister was affronted that anyone would question his honesty.
Strip away the bombast, the attempts to muddy the waters and the bucketloads of blame-shifting and you unearthed the heart of his defence: he still believes there is one rule for him, one for everyone else.
To Johnson the parties were morale-boosting work events after a“difficult day”. In Johnson’s alternative world it was permissible to have a leaving do as opposed to the real world where loved ones were unable to attend genuine leaving dos: funerals.
At one point he sucked his lips, desperation flickered across his eyes as he realised the committee was refusing to swallow his fabrications. You could see the air deflating from him like someone had stuck a pin in Augustus Gloop.
It’s not the lies that had finally caught up with Johnson but the hypocrisy. The jury is still out on whether he is in contempt of Parliament but one charge he is bang to rights: his contempt for the public.
