Boris Johnson is scapegoating the EU to cover up his own failings

Having such a man as prime minister at such a moment makes weeping with collective shame less a temptation, and more a moral imperative

Johnson knows there is an approximately 0.00 per cent chance of the EU scrapping the backstop (Getty)

In accord with the law of probability, the most glib and remorseless liars known even to politics will speak the truth once in a while.

Jonathan Aitken uttered the word “guilty” from an Old Bailey dock, and Donald Trump told a MAGA rally “I love the poorly educated”.

Until this morning, it seemed possible that Boris Johnson might be the exception to prove the rule. After the uninterrupted brazen mendacity stretching back years, the reflex on hearing him say it is a gloriously sunny afternoon is to slake out a hand for the nearest umbrella.