Boris Johnson's response to trapping himself in a ridiculous lie about the Salisbury nerve agent was to play the "but Corbyn ..." distraction card.
Of course a load of obsequious Tory sycophants in the mainstream media played along with his game by uncritically repeating Johnson's crude anti-Corbyn smears instead of addressing the alarming fact that the Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom lied about a national security issue, but surely most people have the ability to see through this farcical deflection strategy?
Anyhow, I'll go through the 8 key facts I've identified in the article header image to provide evidence, links and analysis.
Key fact 1: Boris Johnson lied
There's no doubt about it. Boris Johnson's account of what the Porton Down experts told him about nerve agent is absolutely contradicted by what the Porton Down experts have actually said.
Boris Johnson's claims about what he was told by #PortonDown are absolutely irreconcilable with what the Porton Down experts have announced today.— Tom (AAV) (@Angry_Voice) April 3, 2018
Who is going to hold him to account? pic.twitter.com/Fsg9N5dDgM
Key fact 2: The Foreign Office Twitter account lied
This is an official UK government social media account spreading misinformation about the UK chemical weapons authorities!
This isn't the kind of unprepared off the cuff blundering dishonesty that Boris Johnson and the Tories have totally normalised over the last eight years. It's a premeditated lie by a UK government department.
And it's no wonder they tried to hide the evidence by deleting the Tweet once the Porton Down experts admitted that their chemical analysis couldn't prove the nerve agent was manufactured in Russia, because it's absolutely damning.
Key fact 3: Boris Johnson discredited the UK
It's pretty much impossible to argue that the UK Foreign Secretary trapping himself in a lie about a vital national security issue isn't a massive embarrassment to the UK.
How is anyone supposed to trust the UK government's pronouncements on anything if senior government ministers are such brazen liars that they'll even lie about national security issues?
Key fact 4: This is a massive propaganda own goal against the UK for the Russians
Anyone who actually listened to the Porton Down statement knows that it absolutely did not absolve the Russians of blame for the Salisbury poisoning, all they said was that they couldn't conclusively prove that the nerve agent was definitely manufactured in Russia.
This kind of statement should hardly have carried any serious significance in the grand scheme of things, but the fact that it completely contradicted the previous testimony of Boris Johnson and the Foreign Office is a disaster for the UK, and an absolute gift to Russia.
Now the Russians can point to this glaring inconsistency and with unquestionable justification argue that Boris Johnson and the Foreign Office are dishonest actors in the Salisbury poisoning debate.
If Russia are to blame for the attack (and I have not seen a shred of actual evidence to say that they're not) then Boris has handed them a get out of jail free card by making the UK government out to be a pack of liars.
It's absolutely astounding that the man can discredit the UK like this, then accuse Jeremy Corbyn of discrediting the UK for holding him to account for it.
Key fact 5: Boris is using crude deflection tactics
Refusing to own up to his error and apologise, and seeking to deflect attention by smearing a political opponent is unquestionably the behaviour of an individual with no personal integrity at all.
It's like the kid that stole the chocolate cake eating the whole lot then smearing the remains around their baby brother's mouth and telling mummy that the baby did it.
Only an absolute idiot would fall for it. But that's exactly what Boris Johnson and the rest of his elitist Tory mates assume you, and me, and the rest of the 93% of us who didn't go to private fee-paying schools to be.
They absolutely believe that we're a massive pack of gullible half-wits. That's the only way they can imagine that they can get away with such crude and deceptive distraction tactics.
Key fact 6: Criticism of Boris Johnson does not equate to criticism of the UK
By claiming that Jeremy Corbyn is trying to "discredit the UK" by holding Boris to account over his demonstrable lies, Boris is playing another con. He's equating himself with the country.
He's trying to make out that if anyone criticises him, then they're criticising Britain.
It's a crude and desperate appeal to patriotism, and it's also incredibly dangerous.
It's dangerous because "criticising your government (even when they lie) makes you a traitor" is a tactic straight from the handbook of political tyranny. You know, the one that Vladimir Putin is so keen on using against his political opponents in Russia.
If we casually allow our government ministers to smear us as traitors for daring to question them, even when they've been caught lying, then we really are marching merrily along the road to tyranny.
Just look at what Jeremy Corbyn actually said to provoke such a furious response from Boris Johnson and the Tory media. He wasn't defending Russia at all, or criticising the UK in general. All he did was try to hold Boris Johnson to account for his dishonesty, and he's getting yelled down as a traitor in response.
You know what @jeremycorbyn actually said to provoke this latest intense smear-mongering campaign from Boris Johnson & the obsequious Tory sycophants in the mainstream media?— Tom (AAV) (@Angry_Voice) April 5, 2018
They're furiously attacking him as a traitor just for calling Boris out on the lie he trapped himself in pic.twitter.com/zQ928ZQW5I
Key fact 7: If Boris Johnson had any integrity he'd resign
He's trapped himself in a lie. He's demeaned his office. He's embarrassed Britain. He's scored an own goal against us for the Russians. He's discredited the government. He's refused to admit his error and apologise. He's sought to deflect attention by crudely smearing a political opponent. He's resorted to the tyrannical tactic of equating criticism of the government with treachery ...
If Boris Johnson had the slightest shred of integrity about him, he'd resign and allow someone with more competence, and more honesty to take up the important and prestigious position of Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom.
Key fact 8: Theresa May is too weak to sack him
Theresa May is a placeholder Prime Minister. She's got no authority at all over her party, and as a result they've turned into an absolute rabble under her directionless non-leadership.
It's got to the point where government ministers can lie with impunity, make up their own policies on the hoof, and even talk absolutely cringeworthy gibberish without being corrected, disciplined, or sacked.
The reason Theresa May exists in such a state of paralysis is that she knows that the secretive ERG Brextremist faction of the Tory party have easily enough members to force a vote of no confidence in her, so she's absolutely powerless to criticise or discipline any of the Brexiters in her cabinet, let alone sack them, or Jacob Rees-Mogg and his band of Brextremists would end her political career in a flash as retribution.
There's only one thing more worrying than a strong leader who seeks to rule as a tyrannical autocrat, and that's a weak and inept leader who allows their government to become an absolute rabble of dishonesty, disorder, malice, and incompetence.
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