American here, when a president or prime minister breaks that bond of trust with the people it’s harder for future leaders to have that moral authority which enables them to protect us. Like us, you’re in the midst of a political pandemic – you know who patient Zero is – quarantine him before he burns your house to the ground too.
Little tidbit for you. MP’s speaking in parliament are “absolutely privileged” (that’s that technical term) and can essentially say whatever they like without fear of a defamation action etc – although there are other potential consequences of course. On this basis I’d like BJ to say that again. Outside parliament.
With his back to the wall he throws out the nastiest slur he can thing of, hoping it will stick. But in this case Saville’s crimes were so abhorent that it rebounds and only a few sycophants will remain with him. Obviously she wasn’t one.
Throwing lies into the pit will eventually turn up again to haunt people,mud sticks regardless of how true or untrue they are. He’s a bottom feeder journalist who has lied all he’s live,even to himself.
Trumpian. Pure and simple. That lie from Johnson shores up that falsehood forever amongst his Brexit base.
Because out of the chocolate biscuit variety box of Boris’s lies, THIS lie allowed their escape without them seeming to imply that their other fellow Tories lied too.
So all his other lies were okay, THIS was the last straw 
.
.
This is EXACTLY what riled me up when I heard the local news on this! They started out the report saying that five of his staff had resigned – and then IN THE NEXT BREATH said it was “part of Boris Johnson’s re-shuffling of the Cabinet…” NO IT WASN’T! He didn’t ‘re-shuffle’ ANYONE – they ‘re-shuffled’ THEMSELVES, right out of the door! They LEFT him, because they could no longer tolerate the lies and the arrogance. I used to say BoJo was like Trump but with brains… I’ve now revised my opinion about the ‘brains’ part of that assessment.
If I was a more cynical individual I would say its so that she can then pretend she is leaving for ‘moral’ reasons and not because the writing is ‘now on the wall’ and as a rat she doesn’t want to go down with Johnson’s ship.
Eddie Mair was spot on when told Johnson he was “nasty piece of work”.
Can the Queen sack her own PM or has it got to be the whole government? She sacked the Australian Government in 1975 and we went to an electition. The rights and wrongs of that are still argued about but we moved on. Maybe someone should have a quiet word to HRH. Love your show James and cheers from Australia.
Which goverment PM appeared with Saville on TV , invited him to Chequers more than once ,and put him forward for a Knighthood 4 times , yes you got it the conservtive Thatcher.
I think that it opens a can of worms for the tories. They were very close to Saville and maybe this will call for fresh investigations into their dealings with him.
It was a dog whistle to the crazed right with a Q mentality.
She’s married to one of Sunak’s best friends. Surprised someone as astute as you took her words at face value.
Boris was trying to show that leaders are not fully responsible. What a guy
Remove him from the house. I would put Boris and family in a scatter flat on benefits, that a holiday apparently. Anyone who’s still behind him can follow…. Let see who defends him then
Remove him from the house. I would put Boris and family in a scatter flat on benefits, that a holiday apparently. Anyone who’s still behind him can follow…. Let see who defends him then
As an American, I wish I knew how these people decided where their line in the sand is. Kellyane Conway apparently either hasn’t found hers or doesn’t have one because there’s no line she won’t cross for prestige, money, and power. It’s been a horrifying 6 years or so, watching Trumpism come to be and actually thrive over here. It’s mind boggling, the things people will go along with or actively support. I have never really understood the ability to deny reality so completely and enthusiastically as they do. My only hope has been that there will be some kind of domino effect, whereby someone close to him finally admits the truth to the public and others fall in behind them and do the same. I hope that Trumpism goes the way of McCarthyism, and people look back on it wondering what the devil those people were thinking and how they got away with it for so long. It’s a dwindling hope, but Pence gave us our first glimmer of possibilities recently, so I am not giving up completely quite yet.
The biggest problem the Tories have is finding a replacement who isn’t exactly like Johnson. In trying to defend the indefensible they have shown themselves to be as dishonourable as he is.
This is the thing that worries me the most about Johnson, how low will he go to keep in power and what will he do next.. This is why the Russian thing is making me more nervous than it usually does because i really wouldn’t put it passed him to drag us into some conflict with Russia, as a distraction, which of course they can then turn around and say “Now is not the right time for a leadership challenge”. Im watching for that phrase anytime now..
Saville had tremendous support from the Tories. Birds of a feather flock together!
Maggie Thatcher pushed 5 times to have the close personal friend of the Tories Jimmy Saville put forward for that knighthood. The Tories then as now we’re failing on national healthcare and let their bezzie mate Saville have his own way in exchange for Stoke Mandeville. The Tories knew and turned a blind eye.
BoJoke is what he is. He is a liar and without honour or decency. That is taken as read. The real problem remains with those who defend him both his front bench and back bench but also those voters who say ‘I am sick of hearing about………(fill in the space).
What people don’t know is Saville was very friendly with Thatcher and Edwina Currie. It was Thatcher that put Saville forward for a knighthood, Currie was ok with him having an office in broardmoor and access to patients in Mosside and Park lane hospital. Why he had so much freedom inside these top security hospitals and other hospitals needs to be investigated.
Interesting to see Sunak distance himself from BJ’s remark.
In my view, the most easiest explanation is that when the ship is sinking you need to find a way out. Some of Johnson’s assistants just did. And don’t feel sorry for them, they helped Johnson to get where he is now. They share a part of the guilt.
It’s a golden opportunity to leave the sinking ship.If these folks have worked for Boris a long time, it’s impossible to believe that they are untainted.
They all knew what was going on. They all turned a blind eye. They are all complicit. But now “they” are all acting indignant, all appalled, all disgusted. When pensioners died, when 36 billion disappeared, when nurses wore trash bags, when friends with a desk and phone got multi million pound contracts… that was okay,lol
The Jimmy Saville slur had absolutely nothing to do with the situation surrounding Boris Johnson and his Government right now, but it does illustrate the depths Boris will go to in an effort to try to score points. He clearly thinks that the old favoured tactic of waiting a while, until this all blows over, will work as usual. But unfortunately is isn’t this time….. Just how many times can you keep apologising and saying you’re sorry?
Bit of a contrast from the reaction to Corbyn being viciously smeared, as I recall, but I guess Starmer, being clearly a neoliberal, is one of the chaps and, as such, off limits for that degree of attempted character assassination, which was probably Boris’ biggest mistake, if the number of his own people who’ve deserted him is anything to go by.
great show – one of your best. Like many was caught up in the ‘but the tories gave him the keys to broadmoor’ argument, but you’ve managed to look past all that to see what’s going on x thanks mate:) x
The words we all learn to make up the English language that is spoken in many countries around the world are just being spurned and mangled in support of the undefendable. I am not sure you can make so many different meanings of a sentence in any other other language as you can of the English language.
Kwarteng defended the Savile remarks after this went out.
There are examples of defending a liar, without oneself being a liar, as any Barrister will know, and one anyone might defend a liar, genuinely thinking that the person hadn’t been lying. It may be poor judgement, but not a matter of lying.
The question now – who does he listen too, he’s gone insane………
the UK has an opportunity to handle this political debauchery firmly and decisively. i wonder if it will.
its the last straw cause he attempted to segway from giving a response to a reasonable challenge and action, by pointing elsewhere and bringing up something spurious and entirely irrelevant to the matters at hand, as means of not answering or acknowledging the question. he mocked the distress in the room
It is true that the recent resignations are a way to save theirs pension? as, if they were found guilty, they could have lost their job and pension?
Well said James, spot on news casting.
Boris Johnson is a national embarrassment.
The thing is many of Johnson’s supporters have been parroting this lie ever since Starmer took leadership of the Labour Party, and I think the Tories are more than happy for their supporters to spread such smears – so the idea these resignations are morally motivated is laughable at best. I suspect they knew the Johnson ship was sinking and they’d been waiting for a reason to jump, but needed something that was relatively unrelated to Partygate because this was an issue that affected the Party as a whole and they were potentially implicated in. This issue was perfect because it was exclusively relative to Johnson’s character.
She probably has close relations to someone who was a victim to savile and felt like that was the last straw with everything hes come out with recently that thing was personal
Shame on ITV for calling the PM “Boris” in their latest video. Pitiful.
Buried deep in a series of Veep at the moment. The asking for volunteers to resign thing is a constant running gag and it is impossible not to see the inside of no10 as run in the same haphazard and incompetent way.
“Behaving like a Roman Emperor”. The money for the redecorating seems to have been the result of fiddling.
Boris tried to throw a dead cat on the table in the form of Jimmy saville but it turned out to be a very much alive 700lb Siberian Tiger
Let’s not forget that Savile was a Tory part donor, was knighted by the Tories and was invited to lunch at number 10 by Margaret Thatcher. It would appear the Tories had a closer link to Savile than the one Starmer is accused of.
The Tories loved Saville, Thatcher was all over him.
I heard Boris starting today to reset again with a new background staff. Starting an MP called Barclay, who is new head of the team.
Indeed,….the lies belong to the same “species” of human beings who are incapable of basic decency.
Saville was a close mate of the royals and had a lot of information on them bringing his name up at this time is a danger to an MPs carrier
O’Brien doing his gate keeping for the establishment routine. Doesn’t ask any deeper questions. Boris man bad.
Because any other reason could implicate them. They all were aware of the parties, and/or attended. This lie gave them all a safe exit.
I think his aides realized he would throw them under the bus in the police inquiry and jumped ship
I think it has become a grotesque media circus, and it’s getting more nasty, vile and twisted. Remember the Grand Theft Auto game with Weasel News? Now Weasel News is real life. GTA 6:Westminster
Boris has just insulted the queen 
once again by dissing her choice of knighthoods
once again by dissing her choice of knighthoods
I think it’s very simple calculus at play here – if that comment would have extended his tenure in No. 10 they probably would have let it ride just like the scores of other examples, but as it moved him one step closer to the exit there’s no value to being present when he is dragged out kicking and screaming so they may as well go now while it’s their idea and some semblance of dignity can be maintained. The days of having worked for Johnson being a asset on your CV seem to be well and truly over, the top talent will be avoiding him like the plague from now until his inevitable downfall which will only bring it faster and make it messier. Popcorn anyone?
I think that there is a difference between the the morality of something which is questionable (ie infidelity), and the Jimmy Saville comment for which there is no defence other than another lie. I believe that the qualification of the comment is an example of that.
Of all the things Johnson De Feffell has done, she resigns over this ? Nah, not buying it. She suspected that she would be scapegoated and defenestrated for party gate (someone with 14 years of loyalty would have made a juicy sacrifice)… so her thinking is do a bit of damage on the way out, but leave a route back. Same for the other three clowns.
How many of those MPs sending in letters and resigning were at the parties the Met are investigating now.
IMHO these resignations were simple preempive actions to avoid beeing sacked / sacrifised over the partygate. So all senior staff can their CV clean.
At last, someone has put up side by side photos of Doris and Savile. Same eyes hair and eccentricity, liars/devious both.
Note that Rees Mogg chipped in with a ‘ha’. Toads the lot of ’em.
It is not WHY she resigned but WHEN. She knows that Johnson’s days are numbered. She would not dream of resigning if she expected him to stay for another year, or even 6 months.
This is how my mum argues 
JOB: Smears are bad, unless its about Jeramy. Then you will have JOB’s full support.
Do we have any politicians at all with any vestige of honour, self respect or simply manners left in this Country. It matters not which Party, which of the Home Countries we look at there is no single politician who can hold their heads up. I would not include Tobias Elwood in that remark, a man who appears to me at least to have some decency left in him. The Conservative Party would do well to think carefully about his position in the Party.
It’s hard to tell them apart in this thumbnail. Boris Johnson is a saville look a like.
Real professionals who built up true reputations will not compromise themselves to a wild 
. You cannot predict what direction the next ricochet is coming from.
. You cannot predict what direction the next ricochet is coming from.
Her department is in a cloud of suspicion.
Boris can’t keep dodging bullets anymore.
They realised Boris can go even lower..and potentially throw them all under the bus take them down with him! Doubt they are doing it from the goodness of their hearts..the Tories don’t have a heart between them!
Yes should have highlighted Starmers blind eye tyo the child grooming gangs when he was head of the CPS.
If the director of the office of public prosecution is in charge and responsible like all other people in charge of their departmens of the actions of that office then Starmer had at least some responsibility in the case of J Savile.
.. what we should be talking about is Starmers role in this decision.. he was in charge.. he had to sign it off
Credit to whoever creates your thumbnails 
He was the director of the department of public prosecutions and will have had to make the decision whether or not to proceed with the prosecution of Saville.
I’m NOT a psychoanalyst, BUT… I like trying to get under the skin of ‘other people’. The lady who resigned from Johnson’s internal administration team will have been of a similar mind as her boss, in order to see, think and function to his satisfaction. Matters will have been discussed in private, narratives created to explain actions, untruths created to deflect attention, and so on. This, as well as legitimate policy enablement. So, as I say, she and her colleagues will have to have had much of the same mind set as Boris himself, for they were an active participant of Brand Boris. Her resignation even tells us she respects him, admires him, is an enthusiast of his actions behind the scenes. She was of a mind with him. Nevertheless she resigned. Why? Let us look at what Johnson is as a human being. He will say anything at all to get his own way. He dumps responsibility for actions upon acolytes who are given a grandiose job title to perform them. Thus, responsibility leaves his shoulders. His private life is one of disorganised excess. his own passions overrule all else. Wives, mistresses, offspring, all are simply the detritus of a life lived as his is. How does one cope internally with such conflicts? most of us can’t. It eats away at us, ruins us. Boris’s internal logic hasn’t got this inbuilt worry, concern, gut-wrenching horror at the consequences of his actions. To him it’s ‘their problem’, not his. He has learnt a set of rules to live by. He has discovered how to put on cloaks of personality to fit occasions, ways of convincing people. None of these are the true man sitting beneath the veneer. We never see that. So, we have an individual without a moral compass, that nebulous thing we all nevertheless understand, but with a set of rules within which he can function as a human member of society. Almost like a robot, no understanding why it must behave thus, just a set of algorithms. There is a catch-all term to describe an individual like this. It is a ‘psychopath’. There are plenty of them all round us. Many of them are very successful, not least because they’re prepared to do the unthinkable (however modest that might be) in order to get their own way. Having done so, they’re proud of their ‘achievement’, not ashamed for taking from their victims. This isn’t an altogether bad tendency for society either. Individuals like this can get things done, are less afraid to go where most fear to tread, dig in their heels and make a stand. Let me also say that you can be all these things and NOT be a psychopath, but driven by profound moral values (which really is a whole other kettle of fish). Back to the resignation. Rules that steer psychopathic personality types through life. One of those rules is a learnt detestation of pedophiles. No ifs or buts, they are ‘bad’. Then there is respect for station in life. Peerages are important, they describe a goal achieved. a goal they too aspire to. This explains their obsession with ‘sovereignty’, Royalty, nationalism and wealth accretion. Boris’s rules are fewer than his staff. Anything goes as far as what he utters, to him it’s just part of the dance, the wending way to winning. His staff, however have hit a blocking point. One of their rules, their ‘operating system’ parameters has been breeched. They, quite literally, cannot go on. Curious, and slightly frightening to watch.
How do you know that Boris Johnson was not correct in what he said? He could know more about this than you think. But then again, that’s never stopped you from being wrong before.
They didn’t resign because of Boris’ lie about Starmer. they left because they’re as sick of him as everyone else and this was just the last straw.
I will never understand why people get worked up over lying in parliament vs lying your way to office in the campaign trail. The latter is worse. And we – pretty much every democratic country – let politiicans get away with it, but feign exasperation and moral disgust at the former.
Jim couldn’t’ fix it for PM Boris, but his great love Lady Thatcher when she was PM, fixed a Knighthood for Jim …
We should put all this behind us now. Let boris focus on getting the country out of the mess. He’s done great on the vaccines. Let’s capitalise on this and let’s all just move on.
He’s learnt nothing, and he doubled down. An iron fool.
I am surprised that Ms Mirza hasn’t realised that Bojo doesn’t do apologies
Savile rubbed shoulders with all the Tories of the day. Including Thatcher. Did he not spend time with her at Christmas. A known creep via many folks accounts of the day. Hypocrisy.
All politicians are fickle and just do or say whatever serves their needs best at that time.
She just found the perfect excuse to abandon a sinking ship.
If you watch the clip back you also have Rees Mogg giving it a big “HA!!” when Boris fires out his Saville comments, the country is being run by a bunch of real life cartoon’s.
Is it time to call Borris “little boots”
Will bots still come to somehow defend Boris?
O’Brian Boris did not lie…stammer was the head of the cps…he was responsible for that service….how can Boris be wrong when he accepts full responsibility for what the government does
I suspect the reason she did not want Bojo to invoke Saville is because Saville was one of the issues he used to blackmail his backbenchers with a couple of weeks ago.
How comes James can only point out what a slur is when it’s against kier starmer? He revelled in the slurs and lies aimed at corbyn. His biases are so obvious
…….I was looking really engaged and grown up whilst watching and then you reminded my 5 year old self how funny “What’s her Chops” sounds! Now I have hurty ribs!
Seville, Sir Keir head of DPP , not responsible for the catastrophic decision of his underlings? Very Borislike, no?
Blood in the water. It fell flat, so he looks weaker. Nothing to do with morality.
I dunno why Tories would have a problem with what Boris said. Starmer was in charge and the buck stopped with him. That’s the rationalisation, it’s easy!
I think what borris said was right but also hypocritical as everyone in public life failed to bring Jimmy Saville down, they all knew what he was and still said nothing
A pathological liar will always seek the path of least resistance…
The bigger question is why the media, politicians, law enforcement covered up for Saville for so long and why they still are covering up for the people who knew about it and let it happen.
Didn’t James perpetuate the lies about Corbyn!
Can someone explain to me why what Boris said was so bad? Kier Starmer Was the head of prosecution at the time the case was thrown out so why exactly is he in hot water for it?
Wasn’t a slur it was the truth. Starmer let Savile off
You should know James as being one of the lies in media
Bore off O’Brian zzzzzzzz This is the first time Boris has told the truth 
The devil Savile has been reincarnated by the wig that was handed down to Boris.
As a Conservative voter there’s no way I can vote for this party again because they must have known, Johnson’s closets aides and advisors, precisely who this man really was. He has so obviously lied and lied again. Sad thing is, there’s nobody else worth voting for….
Munira Mirza resigned because she’s focussed on her career. Pure and simple. Boris’s upward trajectory is over. She’s ditched Boris and jumped on a lifeboat. Next time you’ll see her is clinging on to someone else’s coat-tails.
Apparently, thats not why they quit and they were all gonna be fired anyway. Boris was just about to “reset” his over 400 person strong staff, starting with these ones. He told people last Monday about it according to Kwasi.
They are no different to your slurs against Jeremy Corbyn and that puts you in the same boat as BoJo enjoy the ride.
It’s such a pity James incessantly told us there was no alternative but to vote for this lot. What was so wrong with the Green Party in comparison?
Isn’t the main point of interest that Starmer kept saville out of jail. Seems checkable. The rest just seems like flotsam.
Starmmer has been cleared by police. is that the same police that cleared saville? just asking theres photos
Starmer pardoned Savile and now his mate Jobby can’t defend him
Canadian here. Can we leave the common wealth now? Down with Monarch. Down with Britain. Down with all those rasicts showing their face, brexit.
Boris should only go if he loses the confidence of parliament or gets voted out. That’s called democracy, O’Brien doesn’t like democracy though as we have seen with Brexit.
James its a case of if the cap fits we all know he wasn’t blaming Sir Keir Starmer directly but he was in charge at the time and that’s what Boris Johnson was pointing out
I appreciate with you !
I was curious about the look on Keir Starmers face when Boris said that. If anyone looked guilty Keir certainly did. Why?If what Boris said is wrong why look guilty.
Very valid comments.
Slur or not , what Boris said was true
Notice how Jobby hasn’t mentioned his mate Lord Ahmed….
She did nothing about letting the bodies pile up
He has damaged any trust we had in politicians (not much in the first place) I hope he is gone soon…what a heap of lies on top of lies…he has no morals and is and always was an irresponsible, toxic liar!
Hmm, and yet he’s still there. This country is rotten to the core.
The problem with back pockets.
It’s a new trend in Right Wing politics. Laws and rules for everyone else but us. It’s the classic “pig” parallel from Animal Farm.
oh please….I am pretty sure Mirza has wittnessed way worse behaviour without any cameras around. People like Mirza, Patel, Sunak work among people who treat them like colonial subjects while being the “alibi minority person” when needed ( delivering drastic immigration rules, cutting benefits, excuses for incidents like the “letterbox comment” etc.) Mirza needed an excuse to resign while still having a future with the Tories. If she stayed with him she’d be toxic waste….
Maybe she has had a PERSONAL EXPERIENCE that brought that particular situation to her attention…. for me,….the LET THE BODIES PILE HIGH comment should have changed everything!!!.. the fact that it didnt says ALOT about the tory party… AND the british public. – hes not done yet… not by a LONG shot.
Where was Johnson between 31 August and 9 November 1888 ?
Repugnant
Welcome to the information age collapse.
He will never resign. He will need to be sacked. Again.
The straw that broke the camel’s back
Yeh lets put it on queen to fire him she can make an adulter queen of England surely she can fire boris
Brexit is DONE. It can’t be abandoned
I blame brexit what about you O’brien
The comments on here are brilliant reading
Her autobiography out soon.
Why boris is still pm is beyond the pale
I remember the carl beech story
Tories are vampires.
But boris did clarify it, p m s l.
SHE knows AND KNEW SHE’S.A. LAIR TOO
My ears and balance make me feel sick not just because of this fake entertaining news
Novarra Media put you back in your box James
People tell you who they are. Believe them. She did not have morals them nor now. This is personal. the reason are not country or the future of democracy, she wil have resing before. This is something personal not related with anything that matter to us. No one find values under their bed one morning.
Jan N.
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