Johnson ditches the North in favour of Ukraine

No Smileless2012, no matter how much it suits you to try to pretend I do. I've explained why I think people are being gullible about thinking that there was something so urgent that Johnson had to drop everything and go to Ukraine. Maybe there was. We'll see. Or maybe we won't. ??

Well that's good to know volver. As you say maybe there was something so urgent so no need to assume that there wasn't until we know for certain.

Smileless2012

Well that's good to know volver. As you say maybe there was something so urgent so no need to assume that there wasn't until we know for certain.

Or indeed *Smileless to assume that there was!

Of course Casdon, maybe there was; maybe there wasn't.

Grammaretto (if you're still reading) - You're not out on a limb. I too think that sending arms is immoral and just produces more devastation and more refugees, and we know how welcome this govt makes them.

A London taxi driver said to me last week (and they too have brains that have experience of the world, no one has a monopoly of that) "Businesses are making money out of this war. That's why it will never end."

volver

Really, what do you think he was doing there? Showing them how to use Kalashnikovs? Leaders of countries don't drop everything to visit leaders of other friendly countries for talks, even in time of war. I do not believe that there is anything so urgent that it needs Johnson to put on his suit and fly to Ukraine at an hour's notice. Nothing.

That's exactly how I feel, too.

Johnson alternates between using this awful war to try to 'big himself up' on an international stage through antics such as yesterday's, and using it to distract the British electorate from his dreadful failings here in our own country.

With regard to Doncaster. Of course Ukraine is net more important, but important doesn't automatically = urgent.

If the date had been in the diary for 2 weeks - as we are now told it had - why wasn't Doncaster told and rearranged two weeks ago? This is an insult not just for the people of Doncaster but also for Zelensky himself, who deserves a well planned visit, not a surprise drop-in when it happens to suit BJ.

Well I wouldn't know why Mr Johnston decided to visit Ukraine with what appeared to be some urgency. All I do know is that an acquaintance, now friend of ours in our village has given refuge to a very young Ukrainian mum, plus her little girl aged 3 years. Husband ? who knows if he's dead or alive, her mum cannot leave grandmother who is too old and ill to leave. Chatting in our nice safe sunny garden a police helicopter went overhead as they often do, flying rather low which set our dog off! The look of fear on that little girls face, and up to a point her mum, made me realise how absolutely terrible this appalling war is. For me , Doncaster can wait.

UK Secretary of State for Defence bending over backwards to defend Johnson's visit to Ukraine. Sadly he misspells the word Ukriane repeatedly. Sigh.

twitter.com/BWallaceMP/status/1537864043939172353

winterwhite

With regard to Doncaster. Of course Ukraine is net more important, but important doesn't automatically = urgent.

If the date had been in the diary for 2 weeks - as we are now told it had - why wasn't Doncaster told and rearranged two weeks ago? This is an insult not just for the people of Doncaster but also for Zelensky himself, who deserves a well planned visit, not a surprise drop-in when it happens to suit BJ.

It wasn't a visit to Doncaster to meet the people; it was for a meeting of red wall MPs. Doncaster was just the place where the meeting venue was.

It's his vital rebelling red wall MPs who were insulted. A really, really silly move on Johnson's part.

This could explain the urgent need to leave the country.

This story was about to break. Johnson wanted to appoint his mistress to a taxpayer funded role. Aides barred this having become aware she was his mistress when the couple were caught in a compromising position in his office. Matt Hancock resigned when he was caught in this position.

The way the story broke and was instantly removed is also interesting.

www.theneweuropean.co.uk/boris-johnson-wanted-to-give-carrie-symonds-a-100000-downing-street-role/

www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/boris-johnson-accused-of-trying-to-appoint-wife-carrie-to-%C2%A3100k-taxpayer-funded-role-in-2018/ar-AAYBlVz

Boris Johnson was last night accused of trying to appoint Carrie Johnson to a top taxpayer-funded position while Foreign Secretary before he was blocked by colleagues who discovered they were having an affair.

The Prime Minister, who served as chief of the Foreign Office between 2016 and 2018, wanted to make his future wife his £100,000-a-year chief of staff before allies intervened, the Times reports.

Those close to Mr Johnson feared the move would have been a clear breach of ethical standards within one of the four great offices of state.

At the time, staffers learned of the Foreign Secretary and the-then Ms Symonds true relationship after a Tory MP allegedly walked in on them in a 'compromising position' in Mr Johnson's office at the start of 2018.

He was, at the time, still married to lawyer Marina Wheeler, his second wife of 25 years and mother to four of his children.

After her affair with Johnson was exposed, The Times quoted an unnamed source as saying: '[Carrie] was one of these girls who would be at all the parties. I can't remember her doing any work that was really good but she was at every party going.

'The Tories love a social gathering and there were always a lot of parties for her to be at. The rest of us always wondered how she could afford all the dresses and designer handbags and the going out, on her kind of salary.

The revelations come just days after the PM was rocked by the shock resignation of his ethics tsar who quit just 14 months after he took up his position.

www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/boris-johnson-accused-of-trying-to-appoint-wife-carrie-to-%C2%A3100k-taxpayer-funded-role-in-2018/ar-AAYBlVz

Johnston is as Johnston does and will always do.
We were all warned before he was elected by Max Hastings and others that he was a liar and looked after number one first, David Cameron called him a slippery piglet and unfortunately, he is proving by his actions that what they said was true.
Better a photo call in Kyiv than one in Doncaster.
At least Carrie turned up at Ascot in her bespoke hat.

Callistemon21

^Diplomacy and negotiation is the only way to stop the whole damned nightmare there^

How does anyone suggest Ukraine and the West - or indeed anyone - can negotiate in any meaningful and diplomatic way with Putin and Lavrov?

Answers on a postcard.

The answer has already been given, by Ukrainians defending their small island in the Black Sea during the first days of the war.

As far as I have been able to ascertain the un-bowdelerized reply they made to a Russian demand that they surrender was

"You can take your Russian war-ship and stick it up your a---"

I shall leave the rest of the last word to your imaginations - we all know it, after all.

There is no way, meaningful, diplomatic or otherwise that anyone can negotiate with Putin, because Putin does not want to negotiate.

He sees himself as Czar Peter the Great and seems to have forgotten that that war ended in Sweden gaining part of Finland that previously had been Russian.

If we don't eventually negotiate with Putin - or at least Russia - the war will never end. Unless Russia completely overruns Ukraine.

Unpalatable as it may be, there will be peace talks. Wars always end with peace talks.

Smiless 2021-

I agree with you completely. They are such brave people, no matter what is thrown at them.

Johnson always seems quick to promote his strong relationship with Ukraine when he senses trouble at home.
Quite honestly with the dangerous situation as it is in Ukraine I wish we had a more responsible leader than someone with Johnson’s track record.

David Cameron was a fine one to talk! Takes one to know one I guess, except in DC's case you can add on cowardice after the referendum. Great leader he turned out to be - Not.

Ah well, the PM goes to visit a war zone rather than face up to any awkward questions in Doncaster. Nice one PM.

Jaberwok

David Cameron was a fine one to talk! Takes one to know one I guess, except in DC's case you can add on cowardice after the referendum. Great leader he turned out to be - Not.

No comparison. Cameron wasn't as bent as a nine bob note

Yammy

Johnston is as Johnston does and will always do.
We were all warned before he was elected by Max Hastings and others that he was a liar and looked after number one first, David Cameron called him a slippery piglet and unfortunately, he is proving by his actions that what they said was true.
Better a photo call in Kyiv than one in Doncaster.
At least Carrie turned up at Ascot in her bespoke hat.

This is the same Carrie that was about to be offered a job in the Foreign Office until those who had to approve it realised she was in a relationship with the then Foreign Secretary.

Obviously, we cannot know if this is true. It appeared as a Times exclusive - and then quickly disappeared.

Details here

DaisyAnne

Yammy

Johnston is as Johnston does and will always do.
We were all warned before he was elected by Max Hastings and others that he was a liar and looked after number one first, David Cameron called him a slippery piglet and unfortunately, he is proving by his actions that what they said was true.
Better a photo call in Kyiv than one in Doncaster.
At least Carrie turned up at Ascot in her bespoke hat.

This is the same Carrie that was about to be offered a job in the Foreign Office until those who had to approve it realised she was in a relationship with the then Foreign Secretary.

Obviously, we cannot know if this is true. It appeared as a Times exclusive - and then quickly disappeared.

Details here

There is a thread about it already.

Thank you. It seemed relevant to point it out here too. I have no wish to join a thread about it - life's too short

The irony of the meeting with the northern red wall MPs is that it was called so that the MPs could share with Johnson their ideas for 'levelling up'.

Given that levelling up was one of Johnson's selling points in the 2019 GE one would have thought that he had a plan for it. But no, two and a half years into his administration he's just getting around to thinking about it...