Henry Riley 7pm - 10pm
James O'Brien's 'astonishing' takedown of PM's Partygate misconduct
24 May 2022, 11:52 | Updated: 24 May 2022, 12:02
James O'Brien's impassioned monologue on new Partygate revelations
LBC listeners declare James O'Brien 'on fire' in his 'brilliant' assessment of the state of Britain under Boris Johnson, following yet more Partygate revelations.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
"What has happened to our country? How did this happen?" James O'Brien asked.
In photos obtained exclusively by ITV dated 13 November 2020, Boris Johnson is shown raising a glass with Number 10 colleagues, contradicting his previous assertions in the House of Commons that there were no parties during coronavirus lockdown on that specific date.
Read more: Boris Johnson pictured raising a glass at Downing Street party during lockdown
James was reflecting on how standards have deteriorated since Boris Johnson became Prime Minister, spending over five minutes listing from memory incidents which have warranted resignation under any other PM.
Read more: Andy Coulson: Can Boris survive yet another crisis of his own making?
"Under Theresa may even then there were standards in place. Even after Brexit broke the most fundamental rules of reality...there were still standards in place.
"There were still a semblance of decency."
Read more: Andrew Marr: There may be trouble ahead as the PM and his enemies await Sue Gray's report
Read more: James O'Brien: Press 'conned' you that Partygate doesn't matter, I think it's worked
'We do not live in that country anymore'
@mrjamesob is on fire this morning. Damning of Johnson. Every @DailyMailUK reader needs to hear him and reflect on where we are. Is this what you want as our leader? Johnson is not the best of us.
— Terry Finn QPM (@Zibatsu) May 24, 2022
"In Boris Johnson's government, getting fired for blatant dishonesty and borderline treason gets you qualified for promotion."
Read more: James O'Brien's powerful analogy on PM's partygate rule-breaking
Read more: 'How stupid does he think you are?': James O'Brien eviscerates Jacob Rees-Mogg
James hinted at how the Overton window of how the public tolerates misconduct has been shifting ever since the PM's 2019 election victory: "When you are drowning in a sea of lies and corruption, you stop noticing every time the level rises a little higher."
James then pointed to how Cabinet ministers have propped up the Prime Minister's misconduct, bringing their offices into disrepute.
"These titles used to mean something. They used to have heft. they used to have honour.
"You might not like the system, you might not like the establishment, but if you ever liked your country you have to realise that the great offices of state are part of the glue that binds together our democracy and every single one of them has been redeployed as an apologist for a corrupt prime minister."
Astonishing 18 minutes of radio on @LBC from @mrjamesob
— Karl Fisher (@karlmfisher) May 24, 2022
@mrjamesob absolutely brilliant again today James!!! Keep at it!! Maybe the apologists will finally see the light but sometimes I despair!
— Joanna Davies (@joannama) May 24, 2022
He told listeners that the country has become "corrupted by the contagion of Boris Johnson's depravity."
James went on, offering a reason for why the Prime Minister enjoys the unequivocal support of his ministers despite a stream of allegations of misconduct against him.
"Why would anybody go along with the latest lies, except self-interest, delusion and vanity?"
Concluding his "damning" monologue, James distilled his points over Boris Johnson's Partygate misconduct: "There were parties. He attended loads of them. Now you've got the bloody pictures. What more do you need?"
James O'Brien saying much of what I'm thinking today & asking what has happened to us. How did we get here?
— Mary Wombat 🐝💙😷 (@little_mavis) May 24, 2022
@mrjamesob nailing it.
— Tiny Trace 🌻🇺🇦 (@trace_tiny) May 24, 2022
‘We are not that country anymore’
How true is that #JohnsonTheCorruptPM