Boris Johnson has always been Mr Teflon – but for how much longer?

For many, the prime minister’s comments this week about the protection of women and girls are difficult to square with those he made as a sniggering journalist, writes Andrew Woodcock

Time after time, Boris Johnson has shrugged off gaffes which would have finished another politician (AP)

Boris Johnson has always defied the political law which says that a word out of place can derail any career.

Most would-be MPs are subjected to the third degree by selection committees over whether there are any skeletons in their closets which could cause problems if they burst into the open.

Once, this would have been a matter of ill-chosen words in long-forgotten speeches or distasteful opinions voiced in little-read pamphlets. Now it could be anything posted on social media since the candidate was a teenager. Any of these could be discovered by opponents eager for dirt to torpedo their hopes of election.