'Boris Johnson has done too much to be forgiven'

One letter (Jan 13) suggested politicians are ‘rotten apples’. Yet, it is surely wrong to tar all politicians with the Boris brush.

When accounts of partying at Downing Street appeared in December the unequivocal message was that ‘all guidance was followed completely at No10’. And when the video of Allegra Stratton appeared the following week, the response was that ‘there was no party and no Covid rules were broken’.

We did get an apology because the video, we were told, showed ‘No10 staff seeming to make light of lockdown measures’.

Yet, that is already complete nonsense. Allegra Stratton did not ‘make light of lockdown measures’. She simply found it laughable to be asked to make excuses for a rule-breaking party. Meanwhile Boris continued denying any party took place saying ‘I have been repeatedly assured since these allegations emerged that there was no party’.

And since that time we have been repeatedly shown evidence to the contrary; photos of an Xmas quiz, of a garden party, a party invite to ‘bring your own booze’.

In explanation Boris now insists he has ‘learned enough to know that there were things that we simply did not get right’ and that with hindsight he ‘should have sent everyone back inside’ rather than himself spend half-an-hour at the boozy garden party.

Boris may yet patch things up with Tory MPs but he has tried to make fools of the public once too often to be forgiven by the electorate.

Dr Martin Rodger

Bloxworth Road, Parkstone