EDITORIAL

by Peter Jukes

After the Iceberg, the Conservative Ship Founders

For us at Byline Times, reading the Guardian’s recent revelations in the ‘Boris Files’ – a cache of nearly 2,000 leaked documents from Boris Johnson’s private office and Downing Street activity – is rather like mapping an iceberg five years after it sank the traditional Conservative Party and destroyed much of the probity of the British state.

When Johnson entered No 10 in August 2019, we warned, mainly from our reporting on his Russian connections and the unlawful dealings at his Vote Leave campaign, that he would be one of the most venal and mendacious prime ministers in modern political history.

And so it came to pass.

Our coverage of the PPE procurement scandal during the pandemic – billions of non-compete contracts for medical equipment facilitated by a ‘VIP Lane’ that preferred Tory associates and contacts – is a memorable example of the public purse being emptied into private pockets.