Johnson’s camping trip is the same as many of his other promises – more about optics than substance

As someone who has done their fair share of camping, I’m not impressed by the prime minister’s blatant attempt at headline-grabbing, says Janet Street-Porter

Friday 21 August 2020 23:17 BST
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The PM, seen here at his home in Oxfordshire, has left Westminster for a holiday in Scotland
The PM, seen here at his home in Oxfordshire, has left Westminster for a holiday in Scotland

I’m writing as 50 miles an hour gales lash the Norfolk coast – far too windy to put my laundry out, let alone consider camping. The dog is having a funny turn as lumps of twigs fly past his ears and apples thump off the trees every two minutes.

Looking at the tent Boris Johnson has chosen for his holiday – pitched on a slope above rocky cliffs in northern Scotland, only one phrase comes to mind – YOU’RE HAVING A LAUGH!

The man in charge (and I use that word loosely) of the country seems to prefer performing for the cameras to delivering. He loves popping on a medics’s coat, a hard hat, a baker’s hair net or even rubber gloves. Anything to get on the front pages of the papers, generally accompanied by his favourite catchphrase “world-class”.

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