If you can lie to your wife like Boris did, you can lie to the country

WHILe the political class conducts airy debates on why Boris Johnson’s government collapsed so ingloriously this week, I have a simpler explanation.

It was the women who finished him off. no, not Liz Truss, Penny mordaunt, Suella Braverman or the other ambitious Cabinet she-wolfs who wanted him gone so they could lead the pack. I mean Boris’s lovers.

The Pm’s rackety private life has left a long list of jilted women — from Petronella Wyatt to marina Wheeler, Helen macintyre, anna Fazackerley and Jennifer arcuri.

What did these relationships have in common? One thing: his willingness to lie to them, or about them.

When Boris was married (for the second time) to barrister marina Wheeler, he began an affair with journalist Petronella, who had an abortion. In 2004, he lied to his thenboss, Tory leader michael Howard, that tales of his affair with Petronella were false. He was found out — and sacked. Within two years, there was a new rumoured dalliance with journalist anna Fazackerley, neither confirmed nor denied by her.

He had yet another affair with art consultant Helen macintyre and even a ‘love-child’ daughter with her.

more recently there was Jennifer arcuri, the pole- dancing ‘ IT

instructor’ he visited at home when he was London mayor. after these women came Carrie Symonds, who became his third wife and with whom he has found happiness.

Throughout this litany of lust, Boris was willing to go home to marina, the mother of four of his seven children, and lie about where he’d been.

and if you can lie to your wife about the lipstick on your collar, you can lie to a country about a party you attended or whether or not you knew about the claims of groping levelled against a minor government figure.

Boris achieved many things: getting Brexit done, delivering the biggest Tory majority since the 1980s, rolling out Covid jabs and winning the red Wall.

But he is also a liar and, as he learnt when his marriage of 25 years to marina collapsed, when liars are found out, trust is broken for ever.

Boris has been undone by his lying. So now, after two failed marriages and one prematurely ended government, is it too much to hope he will start telling the truth?