Forum Topic

Police called to Johnson residence

Various papers, including the Guardian, the Mail and the Telegraph, are reporting that police were called to the Johnson residence late last night because a neighbour heard shouting and loud noises. She told Mail Online: "Just after midnight I heard a lady shouting, but I couldn't make out what she said, then I heard plates and glasses smashing and things being thrown around.  I was watching something on the television and I had to mute it because I was quite concerned, it was coming through the walls. It lasted for just under 10 minutes, and a police car turned up first, and then a police van a few minutes later." https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7168315/Police-called-flat-Boris-Johnson-shares-Carrie-Symonds.html
So unlike the life of our own dear Queen...

Richard Carter ● 2700d121 Comments

Further to that, one neighbour told the Telegraph: "I heard the row, it was pretty loud. I heard a lot of smashing - it sounded like plates or glasses - and I could hear her shouting. It was definitely her, I didn't hear him. There was a lot of shouting and swearing. It didn't last that long, maybe five minutes."  The neighbour who recorded the row told The Guardian: '"there was a smashing sound of what sounded like plates. There was a couple of very loud screams that I'm certain were Carrie and she was shouting to 'get out' a lot. "She was saying, ''get out of my flat'' and he was saying no. And then there was silence after the screaming. My partner, who was in bed half asleep, had heard a loud bang and the house shook." The neighbour decided to call 999. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/06/21/police-called-home-boris-johnson-girlfriend-reports-altercation/ (paywall).

Richard Carter ● 2700d

Sounds like the alcoholic, hash smokers that lived next door to us a few years ago 😶

Michael Ixer ● 2700d

Boris the future PM, eh?I think that, in some strange and unexpected way, I rather miss the old-style of Tory Prime Minister like Harold Macmillan. I never thought that I would ever say that. He had survived fighting in WW1, unlike most of his cohort, and had learnt some wisdom. I especially liked this:- " … in his maiden speech in the House of Lords he criticised Thatcher's handling of the coal miners' strike and her characterisation of striking miners as 'the enemy within'. He received an unprecedented standing ovation for his oration, which included the words: It breaks my heart to see—and I cannot interfere—what is happening in our country today. This terrible strike, by the best men in the world, who beat the Kaiser's and Hitler's armies and never gave in. It is pointless and we cannot afford that kind of thing. Then there is the growing division of Conservative prosperity in the south and the ailing north and Midlands. We used to have battles and rows but they were quarrels. Now there is a new kind of wicked hatred that has been brought in by different types of people."

David Ainsworth ● 2700d

I only started to believe this story when the Telegraph put it on their front page. Will they drop him as a star columnist?

Jonathan Callaway ● 2699d

Allison Pearson, a fellow columnist with Johnson on the Telegraph, was on Today this morning trying to claim, without a single shred of evidence, that the neighbours were left wing and were trying as a result to destabilise his bid for the premiership. With friends like that...

Richard Carter ● 2699d

When this story broke late yesterday evening I just knew that Richard would be on here like a shot to start a thread about it.🙄This pathetic smear story was given (sold?) to the Guardian and leaked by the paper yesterday evening. What a coincidence (not) it has been widely published on the first day of the hustings. The police attended, spoke to all residents, everything was okay, so they left. There was no significant incident and basically it is a non-story. So what was it all about? Boris and his girlfriend allegedly had a rather noisy row. So what? I had plenty with my ex, and I bet leverybody else on this forum has the odd row with their partner too. So what? Fortunately I didn't have nosy neighbours who recorded them and called the police, and then flogged the recording to a national newspaper. Oh wait! 🤔 Could that be because I'm not a very important public figure that the Guardian dislikes? Could it also be because no newspaper would be interested in buying a recording of it either?Time to give The Guardian a red top because it seems to have become a Leftie version of The Sun.🙄

Sue Hammond ● 2699d

100% correct Sue.I also thought Richard would have been onto this story like  a shot, but it took him a few hours to catch on.Maybe he was having his supper and missed it.But agree with you, it's a non-story.

Paul Game ● 2699d

It is a fact - sad or not- that if someone puts themselves forward for high public office then their private life becomes of public interest.

Caroline Whitehead ● 2699d

Hmm,  a "non-story" that's been covered by every single national newspaper as well as BBC News, Sky News, etc. Some non-story!

Richard Carter ● 2699d

Yes, you can picture the scene:  Richard at home reading the Guardian, hears the story on the news, drops newspaper, springs into action and starts thread on Forum.It’s a non-story that gets Guardian readers excited.

Martine Guy ● 2699d

Well said Sue. The good news for a Boris is that he will soon be able to leave these 'delightful' Brixton neighbours behind for a slightly more salubrious address.

Mike Harris ● 2699d

I think one of the neighbours was being interviewed on the news last night.  He appeared to be giving his own rap version of what happened.

Martine Guy ● 2699d

@RC 10.44Flogged by the Guardian to all and sundry you mean.

Sue Hammond ● 2699d

This will backfire on the Guardian. Johnson's supporters will back him even more because of this sleazey story, in my opinion. 

Sue Hammond ● 2699d

I agree with you Caroline, if you put yourself forward for high office, then your private life -rightly or wrongly- is no longer.Sad, but true.

Ivonne Holliday ● 2699d

Yes I agree.  In this case 2 grown adults in a relationship have a loud row.  Neighbours ring the police who take no action.  Neighbours report story to The Guardian.

Martine Guy ● 2699d

Johnson's supporters will back him.  Regardless.  He could be caught snorting cocaine with Rupert Murdoch and they'd still support him.

Sarah Roberts ● 2699d

The Guardian is desperate for cash, with a begging note at the bottom of each online article.Remarkable how the Police arrived so fast to attend a pre-marital tiff, where no charges were made, but won't attend when a burglar is in your bedroom....

Chantal Blake-Milton ● 2699d

No doubt they will Sue. "There are none so blind as those who will not see. The most deluded people are those who choose to ignore what they already know." What a useless charlatan Boris is. Whether it is rowing with his girlfriend, lying about a British woman held in a foreign prison, changing allegiance with regards to Heathrow expansion (bet his Uxbridge constituents won't forget that betrayal - perhaps he'll be the first PM to lose his own parliamentary seat? )

Lucille Grant ● 2699d

Sue and Paul,I smiled wryly at your comment as I too read in the paper this morning, then looked here and was unsurprised to see Richard’s post.Sue  - I trust that reading Richard’s take on this won’t overly influence your voting in the forthcoming party ballot 😉

Mike Warman ● 2699d

The rapping neighbour is called “Too Many Ts”.  He is a wannabe rap star and appears to be loving the publicity.  Was it him who notified The Guardian?  Amazing he had a rap ready for when the press came knocking on his door!

Martine Guy ● 2699d

Hi Mike. I won't get the chance to vote. I cancelled my membership because of May's deplorable performance over Brexit. I them joined the Brexit Party as soon as it was accepting members. I can confidently say that nothing Richard says would influence me ...😉

Sue Hammond ● 2699d

It's been a carefully organised set-up. In my opinion.

Sue Hammond ● 2699d

Yes Sue, the Guardian probably see stopping Boris as their last chance of stopping Brexit.No chance, it's done and dusted now thank goodness! :-)

Paul Game ● 2699d

Never mind how many times people say that this is a "non-story", it is not going to go away. On the other hand whether it will make any difference to Boris's chances of becoming our next PM is a moot point. After all this sort of behaviour is what we expect of him anyway!

Caroline Whitehead ● 2699d

Only because our desperate left-wing MSM won't let it go away.  Apparently one of the comments allegedly heard was "get off my laptop"  I wonder if we might hear the same request were a sherry-glass placed on a certain person's party wall.

Chantal Blake-Milton ● 2699d

Then the Telegraph should know better

Jonathan Callaway ● 2699d

@CarolineTomorrow's chip paper.

Sue Hammond ● 2699d

Wow,  this is really quite something. From a "non-news story" reported in "our desperate left-wing MSM," which includes desperately left-wing publications like the Daily Mail, the Daily Express,  the Sun (the Sun!) and the Daily Telegraph, this has somehow transmogrified into  "a carefully organised set-up."Well,  I'd say you couldn't make it up except that you obviously have. Do, please, for the benefit of all of us, explain exactly how this carefully organised set-up was organised. Did the Guardian plant Carrie Symonds as a mole in the Johnson household? Or was it the Deep State, or Michael Gove in an attempt to torpedo Johnson's ambitions? I can't wait to hear.

Richard Carter ● 2699d

With neighbours like that youd want to move and quickly. Can any of the couples on here say they have never had a row?

Andy Pike ● 2699d

Well here’s something we can all look forward to.  Too Many Ts, the creator of the rap about Boris living next door, has tweeted “Full tune/vid dropping next week”.  Can’t wait!

Martine Guy ● 2699d

Here's how the right-wing press portrayed the "non-story" story:—

Richard Carter ● 2699d

Can I venture to point out to Johnson's supporters on the Forum that the Daily Mail's treatment of the "non-story" includes a detailed  and by no means sympathetic account of Johnson's serial marital infidelities, including his fathering of a "love child". With a friend like the Mail, who needs enemies?

Alexander MacLeod ● 2699d

Who bloody cares that Boris had a barney with his girlfriend!? Fgs some posters on here obviously lead such pure lives they're frothing at the mouth over jack-all. Pathetic. All that  salacious stuff about affairs has been in the public domain for years, and papers of all stripes love to muck-rake when they get an excuse. Be more concerned that a terrorist-sympathiser Marxist leader of an anti-Semitic party could be in power after the next GE.  Boris is probably the only politician who would stop it happening. LBC's Iain Dale is at the hustings in Birmingham and asked Boris about the incident, and was booed by the audience. Boris was clapped and cheered.

Sue Hammond ● 2699d

Since Paul Dacre's sad departure from the Daily Mail, that publication has declined to such an extent that it is no longer any better than the others.Metropolitan left-leaning snowflake types now have a stranglehold over 'Fleet Street'.

Mike Harris ● 2699d

So, not surprisingly, there's no answer to my request for an explanation of how the story about Johnson was "a carefully organised set-up," because it was obviously such a silly claim that there could be no explanation. However, the failure even to attempt it is revealing of an approach that is happy to throw up completely unjustified claims but not to justify them.So here's a rather different question: if a similar report had appeared about Jeremy Corbyn, would the response here be that it was a complete non-story? I don't think so.

Richard Carter ● 2699d

So who goes around recording their next door neighbours and giving the recording to the newspapers?  Is that even legal?

Bunny Payne ● 2699d

I agree Bunny.Still I think we can rule out rapper, Too Many Ts, who says “Just to clarify I’m in the block next door to Boris.  I wouldn’t be able to hear anything from his flat and I didn’t call the police.”

Martine Guy ● 2699d

"So who goes around recording their next door neighbours and giving the recording to the newspapers? "People, I suggest, who hear shouts, screams and crashing noises from the flat next door and are concerned that someone may be getting hurt. Or are they supposed to think, "Oh, it's only a domestic?" I thought we'd got beyond that kind of neanderthal thinking.

Richard Carter ● 2699d

If everybody called the police every time they heard their neighbours having a row we would need a police force 20 x larger than it currently is. If there is a row going on and somebody was shouting 'help' or screaming in terror of course the police should be called. We've not heard the tape but presumably Carrie Symonds wasn't screaming for help because the papers would have published it. They haven't, so I assume she didn't.I'm not sure it is legal to record your neighbours. I read somewhere that you should not record a telephone conversation unless you tell the other party you are going to do it. It may be that it wouldn't be accepted as evidence in law unless the other party had been advised of it? Hence the recorded message when talking to banks and other organisations. We need a legal eagle to put us right about this.

Sue Hammond ● 2699d

@Sue. I can't see anything wrong with recording one's  neighbour's provided the recording equipment is completely within one's own property. If they don't want to be recorded they should be quieter 🙂 The only restriction I know with recording phone calls is that if you don't tell the other party you cant use the recording in a court of law. (That's in the UK.)

Michael Ixer ● 2699d

Thankyou for that clarification Michael. xx

Sue Hammond ● 2699d

The nosy neighbour has outed himself.https://mol.im/a/7170467

Sue Hammond ● 2699d

Sue,I cannot believe anybody would dial 999 every time a neighbour had an argument with his/her spouse/partner unless there are reasons to believe there could be some sort of violence going on.Recording a neighbour?  Well, I have not heard about this before, but could it be considered acceptable proof for the call to 999?What is very true, is that Boris Johnson at the moment should be behaving "whiter than white".  Vociferous rows and objects being thrown about do not fit the bill.  Boris Johnson, I am sure, is very aware of this.

Ivonne Holliday ● 2699d

There has to be a judgement about whether it's just a load argument or if violence is being used. I've had a police person knock on the door and ask if I'd heard anything earlier - i hadn't because I'd only arrived home after the police came. They then told me to contact them if I did hear anything, and gave me a number to call. When you hear the furniture being thrown around probably should already have called the police?

Michael Ixer ● 2699d

I wholeheartedly agree Michael.

Ivonne Holliday ● 2699d

@MichaelS06H20Fd49pVIs this hypothetical or did it actually happen to you Michael? I don't see how it relates to the Boris row because I didn't read anything about furniture being thrown around. Sounds like plates being smashed was all I read. It's not unusual, I've done it myself when in a temper.

Sue Hammond ● 2699d

An observation. Without going into the ethics of the Boris Johnson or Mark Field case, one thing is possibly becoming apparent looking at posting from friends on friends' Facebook timelines. The Conservatives are moving themselves further from the younger generation.  There's obviously some self selection here - although some of my FB friends are Brexiteers and Tories - but it seems a lot of younger people may agree with Johnson's partner that he's a spoilt rich brat and that Field is just a old male bully boy (not my words and I removed the obscenities from the quote). May not be true but Jeremy probably comes over better to the young than that ...

Michael Ixer ● 2699d

@Sue. It was in response to whether one should call police,  not specifically the Boris case although one report indicated that things were we thrown around and smashed, which could, even if not deliberate, lead to injury. The story is true, although those neighbours moved a while ago. My wife felt she had to call the police on a couple of occasions. The police take domestic violence very seriously these days. 

Michael Ixer ● 2699d

@MichaelHow awful to have neighbours from hell. Glad they've moved on and you and your wife (and Felicity😸) have peace again. Of course I agree that domestic violence should be taken very seriously and the punishments should be very harsh.I've been thinking about the Boris incident and really don't think this was a case of domestic abuse. This is what I imagine happened. Females, when arguing tend to be quite excitable, sometimes irrational, and usually very screechy. Fact. If alcohol is involved the verbal output increases and the decibels get louder. Fact. Men when 3 sheets to the wind tend to get very loud.  Fact. When men and women get hammered together the situation can be combustible. Fact.We don't know what happened that night but let's use our imagination. Picture a scene. Boris and Carrie are both tired at the back end of a long stressful week. They settle down for a relaxing drink and something to eat. Carrie produces some vegan monstrosity, but secretly Boris really wants steak and chips. He gets a bit niggly with disappointment, and she gets narked that he isn't being appreciative of her vegan offering. More red wine is consumed and the sofa gets it, probably not intentionally, but Carrie goes ballistic. In the tape (allegedly) Carrie was  remonstrating to Boris that nothing matters to him, and is also shouting 'get off me'. Okay that sounds bad, but perhaps Boris was trying to put his arm around her to calm her down and apologise for spoiling her sofa, but she was having none of it. Boris at some point (allegedly) shouts 'leave my f****** laptop alone' and a loud crash is heard. Perhaps Carrie threw it on the floor in temper or even at Boris?  Perhaps for good measure she lobbed a few plates his way too? Who knows? Nobody knows. Fact.Police arrive. Neither Boris or Carrie are harmed and no charges are sought by either of them. Nothing more to see here so police leave. Upshot. Leftie neighbours have achieved their 15 minutes of fame and got their smug mugs in the papers. Fellow lefties, feminists and Bojo haters hail them as heroes. Other people without an agenda just call them nosy opportunist  b******s and get on with their lives, which includes the occasional row with their partner.The end.

Sue Hammond ● 2698d

Wonder what the interfering neighbours think of their front door Class War protesters on their doorstep?  Are they busy recording and videoing it all? How do the rest of the neighbours feel?  Is there a Guardian reporter or cameraman present? Have the police been called?

Barbara Shillabeer ● 2698d

Too much pure speculation here, including nonsense like "females, when arguing tend to be quite excitable, sometimes irrational, and usually very screechy. Fact." (No, ridiculous stereotyping), but I can certainly agree that "When men and women get hammered together the situation can be combustible," But how this helps I can't see. Better to wait for an explanation from the people concerned - though from Johnson's many evasions yesterday it's unlikely to come from him. Meanwhile, Symonds is very quiet, maybe judging her options?One piece of slightly less speculative stuff appeared in the Telegraph (I think), suggesting that Johnson still doesn't accept that his marriage is over; I can't see that as doing much for Symonds and must increase her doubts on what she's got herself into. PS: Still no answer to my question for you on how exactly "this carefully organised set-up was organised" - or have you withdrawn this obviously daft idea?

Richard Carter ● 2698d

I am a woman and I've had many rows in the past with my exes (hard to believe😉) and I know how I reacted and how booze can exacerbate arguments. You might think you know everything Richard but you don't and to dismiss opinions as nonsense, ridiculous and daft just smacks of arrogance, not intelligence.

Sue Hammond ● 2698d

Hello Sue,
Interesting what you say.
"I've been thinking about the Boris incident and really don't think this was a case of domestic abuse. This is what I imagine happened. Congratulations on your vivid imagination!
Females, when arguing tend to be quite excitable, sometimes irrational, and usually very screechy. Fact.  Speak for yourself please.  This is an outrageous generalization. If alcohol is involved the verbal output increases and the decibels get louder. Fact. It can do, but not always. In my experience, the volume of music increases. Men when 3 sheets to the wind tend to get very loud.  Fact.  It can happen but they can also get melancholic at times. When men and women get hammered together the situation can be combustible. Fact.  It can happen but not necessarily always.

Ivonne Holliday ● 2698d

Nice fairy tale Sue! However it doesn't add anyrhing and I suppose that the next move has to be with Carrie Symonds. Either she will be seen publicly with Boris as if nothing has happened.Or she will change the locks on the door of her flat.We shall see..........

Caroline Whitehead ● 2698d

The best and most appropriate comment on this sordid affair (I mean the events of the other night, not Johnson and Symonds' menage) is this, from below the line in Camilla Long's excellent piece in the Sunday Times (https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/boris-johnson-a-candidate-caught-in-his-own-spinning-pizza-wheel-of-doom-jrv5hbb7n): "2 women are killed in instances of domestic violence every week in the UK. If you hear a potential instance of domestic violence, always always always call the police."

Richard Carter ● 2698d

Wrong again, I'm afraid: the 'nonsense' I referred to was not an opinion but was claimed by you as fact - or rather, Fact. And the 'daft' referred to your suggestion that the whole thing was a set up, something which, after several requests to explain, you have still ignored, rather as your hero ignores questions about his behaviour.As for "I am a woman [who knew?] and I've had many rows," this may be interesting but is no basis for generalised statements, or fairy tales as Caroline Whitehead aptly remarks.

Richard Carter ● 2698d

@Sue. I thought your imagined events hilarious and gave me a chuckle.  As per usual people should calm down.  Of course nobody is condoning violence but this really is a non story, two adults had a blazing row, so what.  None of us where there, the police left the scene so should we.

Robert Wheeler ● 2698d

"Other people without an agenda"Other people with a different agenda.

David Ainsworth ● 2698d

So far SH has offered the Forum 13 comments (one a whopping 390 words)about a "non story". Is this a record? As Queen Gertrude put it in Hamlet: "The lady doth protest too much, methinks."

Alexander MacLeod ● 2697d

@Sue. Thanks. I have to say police always very responsive. Fortunately Felicity can sleep through anything 🐱 (she might have been dreaming about opportunities to sample "long pig" cat food but fortunately nothing that extreme 🙂) 

Michael Ixer ● 2697d

So far SH has offered the Forum 13 comments (one a whopping 390 words)about a "non story". Is this a record? As Queen Gertrude put it in Hamlet: "The lady doth protest too much, methinks."

Alexander MacLeod ● 2697d

Alexander, I really get under your skin. You are so funny. 😸

Sue Hammond ● 2697d

It wouldn't be so bad if she actually answered questions about her more outlandish claims instead of regally ignoring them, rather like her hero - actually, make that two heroes - Messrs Blobby(s):

Richard Carter ● 2697d

Scary pic. I think Putin's in danger of getting the last laugh on this one - makes him look quite civilised ...

Michael Ixer ● 2697d

Reply to Richard, I have no problem with the Police being called, absolutely the correct thing to do.  However, the Police satisfied themselves that nobody was hurt or in danger and left without making any arrests or charges.I am querying the legitimacy of making recordings of your neighbours and giving the recording to a newspaper.

Bunny Payne ● 2697d

Well, here's a thing: today's Evening Standard sports a front-page picture of the happy couple is a supposed "show of unity", claiming that the photo was taken "three days after [the] flat bust up". What's really interesting about it, as someone on Twitter has pointed out, is that Johnson's hair has grown a great deal this weekend. Either that, or — but this couldn't possibly be true, could it? the photo is a fake, not from three days after the bust up but from long before.  Oh dear.

Richard Carter ● 2697d

As I said previously, we shall see.........

Caroline Whitehead ● 2697d

It also struck me that she is dressed unusually warmly for a summer's day. Doubt we will ever learn the truth.

Lucille Grant ● 2697d

@Bunny.  One may consider it distasteful but as I noted before provided the recording is done within the confines of one's own property,  or, in fact, on the public highway and then I'm not aware of any law that would restrict this unless the recorder had a terrorist intent - which obviously isn't the case. If you don't want to be recorded, keep your voice down! 🙂

Michael Ixer ● 2697d

Now in the newspaper he want's to return to his wife, woe is me. Wants his cake and eat it.

Barbara Stevens ● 2697d

Wife and girlfriend? Yeah, right. Sounds as unrealistic as his Brexit  plans. He's just a spoilt public school boy, totally unsuitable to be the UK's leader in the 21st century!

Michael Ixer ● 2697d

Wife and girlfriend? Yeah, right. Sounds as unrealistic as his Brexit  plans. He's just a spoilt public school boy, totally unsuitable to be the UK's leader in the 21st century!

Michael Ixer ● 2697d

"Wants his cake and eat it."If he only ate his own cake ...

David Ainsworth ● 2697d

SH:    There's a growing consensus about who is funny. 14 comments. That's got to be a record, surely.

Alexander MacLeod ● 2697d

Now even the Daily Mail (the Daily Mail!) has a story trashing the whole staged photos business:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-7176637/JAN-MOIR-Boris-Johnson-Carrie-Symonds-photo-cheesy-Mills-Boon-scene-taking-fools.html Moir concludes, not very reassuringly: "Yet ultimately, these images are not reassuring. They are testament to the fact that everything has gone so weird, so quickly – which makes it so very, very worrying. Boris Johnson might still be a big beast Conservative and front runner to be our next prime minister, but he still seems unable to escape the shadows of a rackety past. And if Boris cannot be trusted with his finger on the blouse button, what hope is there for his finger on the nuclear button? " Meanwhile, the Daily Star, not surprisingly, has the most off-the-wall take on Brexit, in claiming that "BBC bosses have been accused of brainwashing Brits to support Brexit by showing Dad's Army repeats." To which you can only say, eh? I thought the BBC was supposed to be biased against Brexit?

Richard Carter ● 2696d

When seeing this headline I thought it would prove the assertion that this is an old photo.it doesn't even suggest that apart from an aside about someone on Twitter suggesting that.So I conclude ths headline is there to mislead and Richard has posted it here for the same reason.

Andy Pike ● 2696d

I reckon Boris is playing a game with the media lol. At least it's given Richard another opportunity to advertise his 2nd favourite newspaper.😸

Sue Hammond ● 2696d

Andy the assertion that this is either a recent posed photograph or an old one is all over the internet and MSM, so it's hardly surprising  the Daily Mail has it too. Sorry to damp the  squib so early in the day but this is not down to Richard.

Lucille Grant ● 2696d

The Mail Online is showing the loved up Boris/Carrie photo with alternate captions from Twitter.  They are very funny.I don’t watch Dads Army, it was never my favourite, but it was on at home because there were so few channels to watch in those days.  Just more repeats from the BBC, all that licence money and that’s what we get.

Martine Guy ● 2696d

But the mail is not saying that. That's the point its headline would suggest that but that's not what the story says. Personally couldn't give a fig but lets at least be honest about it both ways. So now the internet and social media are reliable sources ??

Andy Pike ● 2696d

"So now the internet and social media are reliable sources ??"They are Gospel for some. Trouble is, even television, film, photographs and printed books can be wrong. Bit of a b^ggar really.

David Ainsworth ● 2696d

Sky News:-"When asked about what happened in the early hours of Friday, Mr Johnson told the BBC: "I...would love to tell you about all sorts of things Laura [Kuenssberg, the corporation's political editor] but I've made it a rule over many, many years and I think you've interviewed me loads of times, I do not talk about stuff involving my family, my loved ones."His "loved ones"?! That is rather a lot of people, isn't it? Over the years.

David Ainsworth ● 2696d

Social media is simply pointing out that in this photo Boris Johnson has lots of hair, when recently he's been out and about sporting a neatly cropped hairdo and a slimmed down figure.  So the photo must be from before March 12th, which is when he was first seen with his new hairstyle in the house of commons.

Clare Noeken ● 2696d

Oh I see his hair hasn't grown at anytime since March 12th.

Andy Pike ● 2696d

Of course his hair has grown since March 12 - don't be obtuse Andy.Most recent  photos show him with shorter less messy hair and slimmed down body. The photo in question looks like from the pre haircut days.

Lucille Grant ● 2696d

One has to be blind not to notice that the photo was taken at an earlier, hairier time. Perhaps, though, self-induced blindness is the problem?

Alexander MacLeod ● 2696d

Perhaps Boris is really bald and he got his wigs mixed up after too many glasses of vin rougue? If he can't decide whether he's  left his marriage or not he's hardly capable of managing Brexit - he'll have us already to leave with no deal on Halloween and then decide, actually we're staying with Brussels and herd family 🙂

Michael Ixer ● 2696d

Rather rude Alexander and unnecessarily so .

Andy Pike ● 2696d

"vin rouge"!

Michael Ixer ● 2696d

Ok let's try this. They could have had tbis photo taken 4 months ago just in case they had a row . If though it's a papparatzi photo surely the person who took it would have cried foul by now.The mystery for me is that no one has yet claimed ownership if the photo

Andy Pike ● 2696d

Does Corbyn talk about his fling with Diane Abbott, or any of his 3 wives?

Sue Hammond ● 2696d

You can be sure all that mud will fly if a General Election is called and there is an opportunity for Corbyn to get the keys to No 10, Sue.

Lucille Grant ● 2696d

Yes Lucille all kinds of skeletons could fall out of lots of cupboards.😉Lots of other politicians have been involved in rumpy-pumpy scandals over the years, just from the top of my head I can think of: John Profumo, Cecile Parkinson, Jeremy Thorpe, John Major and Edwina Currie and David Mellor. Even Harold Wilson (allegedly) had a mistress for many years. Political power is quite an aphrodisiac it seems, and there's nothing stronger than No.10 to get the sap rising ...

Sue Hammond ● 2696d

Nearly the right correction: vin rogue,  in this case I think!

Richard Carter ● 2696d

"His "loved ones"?! That is rather a lot of people, isn't it? Over the years."Not really, there's only ever been one, and that's Boris Johnson.

Richard Carter ● 2696d

Andy: trop sensible!

Alexander MacLeod ● 2696d

Not sensitive af all Alexander

Andy Pike ● 2696d

All I can say is never, ever believe everything you read in the press.  In my opinion they cause more trouble than anyone else and they love gossip and scandal, whilst pretending to be oh, so concerned.

Bunny Payne ● 2695d

And this was in a paper this morning, I can't now remember which one:

Richard Carter ● 2695d

From LBC yesterday:-"James O'Brien gave an explanation of Boris Johnson's dead cat theory - showing why he would rather talk about painting buses than Brexit or the row with his girlfriend.Nick Ferrari got headlines around the UK yesterday for asking Mr Johnson 26 times whether the picture of him apparently having made up with Carrie Symonds was a recent photo.But also getting attention was another interview the former Foreign Secretary did in which he said he relaxed by turning wine boxes into buses.That made James think of something Mr Johnson said in 2013 about what you should do if you're losing an argument.Mr Johnson said: ""Let us suppose you are losing an argument. The facts are overwhelmingly against you and the more people focus on the reality the worse it is for you and your case."Your best bet in these circumstances is to perform a manoeuvre that a great campaigner describes as 'throwing a dead cat on the table mate'."That is because there is one thing that is absolutely certain about throwing a dead cat on the dining room table and I don't mean that people will be outraged, alarmed, disgusted. That is true, but irrelevant. The key point says my Australian friend is that everyone will shout 'Jeez mate, there's a dead cat on the table.'"In other words, they will be talking about the dead cat, the thing you want them to talk about and they will not be talking about the issue that has been causing you so much grief.""https://www.lbc.co.uk/radio/presenters/james-obrien/james-obrien-boris-johnson-dead-cat-theory/All about winning. At any cost.

David Ainsworth ● 2694d

I really hate that distasteful expression. 🤬 I'm not surprised though that the equally obnoxious O'Brien would use it.😡 Distraction tactics are not a new thing in politics so what's the big deal this time?

Sue Hammond ● 2694d

Sue. Agreed, a very distasteful expression. However, I'd note it was the equally distasteful Johnson who introduced the phrase from another distasteful person, his Australian "friend" Lynton Crosby, in 2013. His domestic squabbles and flippant comments about model buses (remember the money wasted on the new Routemaster project) distract from the potential disaster of a no deal for the UK's manufacturing industry - as explained today by the Japanese foreign minister 😡 

Michael Ixer ● 2694d

"I really hate that distasteful expression. I'm not surprised though that the equally obnoxious O'Brien would use it."He didn't. The equally obnoxious Boris Johnson used it."Distraction tactics are not a new thing in politics so what's the big deal this time?"If you believe that they are all the same then how do you choose which lies to believe from which lying liar?

David Ainsworth ● 2694d

The  'big deal' this time Sue, is that we don't need obfuscation and diversion tactics from someone  who hopes to become PM. An utterly untrustworthy man who couldn't give a fig for the people he is meant to serve. He is not alone I agree, but he is after the  'top prize' in British politics and treats the general public as fools. His adoring fans let him get away with it.

Lucille Grant ● 2694d

@DavidSorry I misunderstood your post, but I heard an advert for O'Brien's show on LBC and he used the term in that. Maybe we believe what we want to hear?

Sue Hammond ● 2694d

Looks like Vauxhall probably won't be happy with "no deal"? Time for Johnson to do some planning?https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-48790657

Michael Ixer ● 2694d

Vauxhall the company?  I imagine Vauxhall the constituency might also be unhappy when they next get the chance to vote for their MP.

Jonathan Callaway ● 2694d

Yes, the car company. An unintentional but useful ambiguity 🙂

Michael Ixer ● 2694d

"In this case 2 grown adults in a relationship have a loud row". - Martine GuyIn which, just as might happen in Eastenders, glasses and crockery are thrown around and the woman asks the man to 'get off her'.Of course this might be par for the course in Ms Guy's household and perhaps Ms Hammond's in her married years - "So what? I had plenty with my ex".But not, I would suggest, for most of us.And of course the issue is important and not just 'personal' because man in question is likely, thanks to the tacit support and defence if not the votes of these two ladies, to become our Prime Minister.In the past, whatever the policy differences, one would look at Conservative leaders and admit they were gentlemen or ladies with a certain gravitas and maturity and a shared common decency based upon British values of behaviour. The Cof E used to be described as 'the Conservative Party at prayer', meant to mean I think that the Party at least aspired to certain high moral standards.Now we will get Johnson.Do Ms Guy and Ms Hammond and others that support him really look at this man with any admiration for how he deports himself ?Why do they defend him ?He is a man of buffoonish demeanor, with a proven record of dishonesty and appalling social behaviour.This particularly applies to his treatment of women (see above) especially his wife and the various mistresses he has impregnated.  If his supporters came across a relative, friend, neighbour or colleague with a similar history of such behaviour would they be similarly enamoured or say what a 'nasty piece of work' and shun them ?Do they think his behaviour admirable ?Do they think he is a fine example of British manhood ?Do they think he is a befitting representative of Britain and what we stand for ?Heaven help them and us if they do.

John Hawkes ● 2692d

How dare you, Mr Hawkes?  I have had a happy marriage for over 40 years, what about you?  Is it a bundle of laughs, love and happiness in the Hawkes household all the time?

Martine Guy ● 2692d

"Why do they defend him ?"Because we do. And it's f-all to do with you why we do. Okay?

Sue Hammond ● 2692d

Martine. Mr Hawkes is a bitter disagreeable old fart, which he's proved many times. Ignore his obnoxious jibes.

Sue Hammond ● 2692d

"Why do they defend him ?"Because we do. And it's f-all to do with you why we do. Okay?"This is, or is supposed to be, a discussion forum, and instead of a reasoned argument we get the response of a 3-year old: "I won't, so there."Just like your constant refusal to engage in the discussion on Brexit.

Richard Carter ● 2692d

Please yourself. Leavers are bored with the constant third degree questioning by you and John Hawkes and several others on here. Just drop it. Let it go. We are leaving the EU. Get over it.

Sue Hammond ● 2692d

I have not looked at the Forum for some weeks but when I did I found that there are still some contributors for whom child like invective is supposed to impress us as reasoned, convivial discussion and argument.Plus ca change as they say in parts of that nasty old EU!My latest post was nothing to do with Brexit Ms Hammond but about the subject of the thread namely Boris Johnson and his behaviour.Perhaps you did not read what I said for you certainly responded very quickly.I have no problem with the fact that the Referendum resulted in a desire of the British people by a very small majority to leave the EU.And so we should under the best terms possible and terms that do us minimum harm.If the best we can achieve is a 'No deal' Brexit then so be it.Those that seek this will get what they want and those that want a different version or even Remain will have to put up with it.I am quite sanguine to be honest because I think that I personally and my family are sufficiently well provided for and also our circumstances will make us quite resilient should even the worse forecasts prove to be correct.I hope you and yours are too.Bit worried about those workers in the car industry though and our farmers if things don't go as Johnson promises.And so back to the great man himself.You have not answered the key point of my post.Do you admire him and would you find his attitudes, beliefs and behaviour acceptable and admirable in a relative, friend, neighbour or colleague or anyone not running to be PM ?

John Hawkes ● 2692d

Last night Police were called to Jeremy Hunt's residence after a neighbour reported hearing the N.H.S. screaming..

Bill Christie ● 2692d

" Just drop it. Let it go. We are leaving the EU. Get over it." In other words, I'll thcream and I'll thcream and I'll thcream 'till I'm thick!" So says the Violet Elizabeth Bott of SW15, before stamping her little foot.

Richard Carter ● 2692d

That’s rich, IMO, coming from the person who had a hissy fit and flounced off the Forum.

Martine Guy ● 2692d

Few I think Mrs Guy flounce off from this Forum.They just get tired of personal invective and ignorant statements (like this one) that are passed off as reasoned, rational argument.And why don't you, as Ms Hammond is unable to do so, reply to my comment about Johnson's behaviour and whether you you admire it as being a good example of 'Britishness' and would find it acceptable and praiseworthy were it to come from a relation, friend, neighbour, colleague or simply a British 'man in the street'.A response one way or another would give us a good understanding of your beliefs, attitudes and if I can be a little pompous, moral purpose.

John Hawkes ● 2692d

Who the hell are you, Mr Hawkes, to ask about my moral purpose?  I am truly astounded.  really who do you think you are?

Martine Guy ● 2692d