There is a dark underbelly to the character of Boris Johnson

Has history ever known a leader like Boris Johnson? He is a phenomenon of the modern age, says Michael Clifford

In the last few days, his leadership has made markets tremble, seen off a prime minister and put in peril the future leadership of the Labour Party in the UK. The campaign he led has dealt a major blow to the economy of this country, but we Irish are too insignificant to have even featured on the periphery of his radar.

He has been exposed as a liar and a cheat yet none of that matters. With a straight face, he campaigned for Brexit promising to rid the country of “European elites”, yet he is a product of that very caste himself. He is an old boy of Eton, the academy of Empire, and studied at the exclusive Oxford university, yet he claims to be taking on the “establishment”.