Photo: PA
France’s state-owned news network has dared to go where the BBC fears to tread by covering the litany of untruths made by Boris Johnson in the House of Commons.
A video made by lawyer Peter Stefanovic documenting the spurious claims made by the prime minister in parliament made it onto France 24 this weekend as pressure mounts for the UK’s state broadcaster to cover the issue.
The BBC’s political editor, Laura Kuenssberg, took a swipe at it after publishing an article entitled, “Boris Johnson: What is the PM’s relationship with the truth?”, but the piece has been widely criticised after failing to mention any examples.
One presenter even questioned whether the public actually care about Johnson lying in parliament in an interview with Alastair Campbell.
It comes as Green Party MP Caroline Lucas warned that it is becoming “impossible” for the government to be held to account when the prime minister “systematically lies at the dispatch box with impunity”.
Speaking ahead of a meeting with speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle, she told The Independent : “We have a parliamentary system based on the idea that all MPs are honorable. But that system crumbles when you have a prime minister who’s a serial liar – he’s been sacked twice for that in previous jobs.
“The normalization of lying in government is deeply dangerous, and when the Prime Minister systematically lies to the shipping box with impunity, it is impossible for MPs to hold the government to account. That is why I coordinated a letter with five other opposition leaders in Westminster to the Speaker asking that we bring this matter to the House.
Ms Lucas added: “I am disappointed that so many news organizations have failed to pursue this direction when there are so many examples of it. Some independent journalists like Peter Stefanovic have pointed this out on social media.
“A video he made has been viewed over 13 million times, so there is huge public interest in it. Newspapers and broadcasters should follow up. Their silence allows the Prime Minister to get out of the woods in a way that deeply undermines our democratic system.”
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