James O'Brien's 'astonishing' takedown of PM's Partygate misconduct

"What has happened to our country? How did this happen?" James O'Brien asked.

In photos obtained exclusively by ITV dated 13 November 2020, Boris Johnson is shown raising a glass with Number 10 colleagues, contradicting his previous assertions in the House of Commons that there were no parties during coronavirus lockdown on that specific date.

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James was reflecting on how standards have deteriorated since Boris Johnson became Prime Minister, spending over five minutes listing from memory incidents which have warranted resignation under any other PM.

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"Under Theresa may even then there were standards in place. Even after Brexit broke the most fundamental rules of reality...there were still standards in place.

"There were still a semblance of decency."

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"In Boris Johnson's government, getting fired for blatant dishonesty and borderline treason gets you qualified for promotion."

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James hinted at how the Overton window of how the public tolerates misconduct has been shifting ever since the PM's 2019 election victory: "When you are drowning in a sea of lies and corruption, you stop noticing every time the level rises a little higher."

James then pointed to how Cabinet ministers have propped up the Prime Minister's misconduct, bringing their offices into disrepute.

"These titles used to mean something. They used to have heft. they used to have honour.

"You might not like the system, you might not like the establishment, but if you ever liked your country you have to realise that the great offices of state are part of the glue that binds together our democracy and every single one of them has been redeployed as an apologist for a corrupt prime minister."

He told listeners that the country has become "corrupted by the contagion of Boris Johnson's depravity."

James went on, offering a reason for why the Prime Minister enjoys the unequivocal support of his ministers despite a stream of allegations of misconduct against him.

"Why would anybody go along with the latest lies, except self-interest, delusion and vanity?"

Concluding his "damning" monologue, James distilled his points over Boris Johnson's Partygate misconduct: "There were parties. He attended loads of them. Now you've got the bloody pictures. What more do you need?"