Video
Boris Johnson is ‘astonishingly elastic with truth’, says Dominic Grieve
Boris Johnson is 'astonishingly elastic with the truth', said former attorney general Dominic Grieve. Picture: LBC - Credit: LBC
Former attorney general Dominic Grieve has made a damning assessment of the prime minister's character in comparison to Jeremy Corbyn.
Asked by a caller on LBC which of the Labour or Conservative leaders he would vote for her said: "I'm not happy with either which is why I've ended up standing as an independent.
"In the case of Jeremy Corbyn, I think the extreme socialist policies which he espouses and indeed his underlying Marxism would be very, very damaging for the country economically and other ways if he were ever elected or ever went anywhere near Downing Street."
He promised that as an MP he would "do nothing to facilitate [Corbyn's] arrival there".
But asked if he prefers Boris Johnson, Grieve said: "But I do find Boris Johnson extremely troubling as an individual. I can't escape the fact that my own assessment of him is that he is a politician who I simply cannot trust. He is somebody who is astonishingly elastic with truth."
You may also want to watch:
Asked if Corbyn is more trustworthy than Johnson, Grieve said: "I think Jeremy Corbyn's policies are ghastly and therefore would be massively damaging.
"But I have to say, do I find Jeremy Corbyn as a private individual somebody who is sincere in beliefs which I happen to disagree with? Yes I do.
Most Read
- 1 The stench of scandal seeping out from Britain
- 2 How the vaccines have shifted opinions over Brexit
- 3 Cross-party group set up to assess impact of UK’s post-Brexit trade deals
- 4 Why the EU is no longer the elephant in the room in the Netherlands
- 5 Why is devout Jacob Rees-Mogg so quiet about Boris Johnson's affairs?
- 6 Major and Blair were right about Brexit and Northern Ireland
- 7 David Cameron accepts ‘lessons to be learnt’ following lobbying row
- 8 Roman Kemp: Depression and coping with George Michael's death
- 9 Dominic Cummings' new venture could cause concern for No 10
- 10 What Keir Starmer must do next
"Whereas I have to say that I find Boris Johnson as an individual who I regard as wholly insincere, who is indeed willing to say almost anything to anybody if he thinks it's going to be at his advantage at any given moment.
"I've never experienced a politician in modern British history who is so elastic with truth. And also willing to resort to telling whopping lies against other people if he thinks it suits him and that really worries me."
Grieve said as a former Conservative, he always felt the party at least attempted to maintain its integrity until now.
But Johnson, he said, is "somebody who has no integrity at all."
Become a Supporter
The New European is proud of its journalism and we hope you are proud of it too. We believe our voice is important - both in representing the pro-EU perspective and also to help rebalance the right wing extremes of much of the UK national press. If you value what we are doing, you can help us by making a contribution to the cost of our journalism.
