Brandon Lewis’s ‘parking ticket’ defence of Boris Johnson is quite the watch

John Plunkett. Updated April 19th, 2022

Today’s Cabinet minister who has been sent out to defend Boris Johnson over Partygate was Northern Ireland secretary, Brandon Lewis.

And the minister’s tactic of choice appeared to rely on comparing Johnson breaking his own Covid laws at the height of lockdown to someone getting a parking ticket.

Here he is talking to Sky News presenter Kay Burley and it’s fair to say she wasn’t having any of it.

You don’t want to miss this 👇

Govt. minister @BrandonLewis tries to defend the PM over #partygate 👀#KayBurley UF pic.twitter.com/2tYvj8ZSaT

— Kay Burley (@KayBurley) April 19, 2022

He got similarly short thrift over on ITV’s Good Morning Britain.

Adil Ray – Do you accept Boris Johnson has broken the ministerial code?

Brandon Lewis – No, I don't…

Adil Ray – Should we just tear up the ministerial code?

BL – People have had speeding fines

KG – those people didn't stand in the commons & deny speeding..#GMB pic.twitter.com/ODQuBE7F4o

— Haggis_UK 🇬🇧 🇪🇺 (@Haggis_UK) April 19, 2022

And it didn’t go down any better with Dan Walker over at BBC Breakfast.

Brandon Lewis managed to piss Dan Walker off today by comparing Boris Johnson’s criminal activities to PARKING FINES

Is there a route these tories haven’t gone down to try & make it look like we’re being over zealous 😡#BBCBreakfast #JohnsonOut85 #KayBurley #PartyGate pic.twitter.com/oX39oUEWJQ

— kerry ✊💙Save Our NHS (@hewitson10) April 19, 2022

Say what you like about Lewis – please – but at least he was consistent.

And here are just a few of the things people were saying about the Northern Ireland secretary today.

I have always wondered what happens when a soul leaves a body and now at last I know. pic.twitter.com/RFH5PefV5v

— Brendan May (@bmay) April 19, 2022

https://twitter.com/TobyonTV/status/1516300045309648901?s=20&t=Ima0y87NCQtvvn38X5-YCw

The conversation should have gone like this:

“Does Boris accept that he broke the rules?”
“Yes.”

Instead we get the Lord of the Pricks extended blu-ray edition of obfuscating what-aboutery bullshit. Standard. https://t.co/zOeplK7ATD

— Jonathan Pie (@JonathanPieNews) April 19, 2022

I've seen some fairly kinky stuff on the internet in my time, but is there a more dom-sub sight than a sweating junior minister debasing themselves over and over at the behest of a leader who probably doesn't even know their name https://t.co/hJh1K3Xzcd

— Caspar Salmon (@CasparSalmon) April 19, 2022

https://twitter.com/tompeck/status/1516346138495963140?s=20&t=swv44PzNz3VWsPEB3w78QA

"It's all fine! In 1784 Pitt the Younger was chastised for riding a horse on the sabbath." https://t.co/e6WgR3NX3o

— The Jase 🐶 🎸 🎥 (@jasemonkey) April 19, 2022

I'm not sure I'd have gone into the 'parking ticket' motif if it was me, given that Johnson famously wrote some years ago that he made a habit of parking on yellow lines, but dodged the incessant parking tickets by having a car registered in Belgium. https://t.co/nKzdOtBBYj

— Dr Emma Tonkin (@emmatonkin) April 19, 2022

To conclude …

A complete and utter bull**** defence of the Prime Minister by Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis this morning

The issue today is simple – will Conservative MP’s condone lying to Parliament & criminality at the very heart of Government pic.twitter.com/fQ6uliygSR

— Peter Stefanovic (@PeterStefanovi2) April 19, 2022

And this.

Taxi for Brandon Lewis

— John Crace (@JohnJCrace) April 19, 2022

Source Twitter @KayBurley