Her Majesty’s secretary of state for foreign and commonwealth affairs, Boris Johnson, is an accomplished confidence man. Mr Johnson’s 4,000-word job application (he wants to be prime minister) in last Saturday’s Telegraph is a masterclass in doublespeak and smarm. They want to believe that wicked foreigners are taking from us £350m a week. But there are some things Mr Johnson tells his electorate which they take as self-evident. The only sight that Mr Johnson will admit frightens him is that of “so many young people with the 12 stars lipsticked on their faces … with genuinely split allegiances”.

Source: The Guardian September 17, 2017 17:48 UTC