Johnson is as corrupt as Clinton – but at least Bubba bothered to brush his hair

The British prime minister is by no means the first politician to seize on a deadly serious matter as a distraction from his woes, writes Marina Hyde

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson who looks as if he’s just been forcibly dragged away from a knee-trembler in the stationery cupboard at one of Downing Street’s famous Christmas parties. Photo: Kirsty O'Connor/PA

What’s a worse sign of weakness – going on TV to terrify the nation to distract from your illicit cheese and wine parties, or bombing an aspirin factory to distract from a grand jury investigation into your illicit blowjobs?

In strictly limited terms, there are some similarities between Boris Johnson’s address to the British nation on Sunday, and Bill Clinton’s 1998 announcement of the bombing of a Sudanese pharmaceutical plant, three days after the then US president had testified – and lied – in the Monica Lewinsky hearings.