The Brexit envoy to the US just resigned over Boris Johnson’s ‘unbearable lies’
A top British diplomat dramatically resigned over the conduct of Boris Johnson’s administration on 6 December. The UK’s Brexit envoy to the US said that she could no longer stand peddling “half-truths on behalf of a government I do not trust”.
‘Dishonest with own citizens’
In her resignation letter, diplomat Alexandra Hall Hall also said that the job had become “untenable professionally” and “unbearable personally”.
A Foreign Office spokesperson said:
We won’t comment on the detail of an individual’s resignation.
Hall Hall wrote:
I have been increasingly dismayed by the way in which our political leaders have tried to deliver Brexit, with reluctance to address honestly, even with our own citizens, the challenges and trade-offs which Brexit involves; the use of misleading or disingenuous arguments about the implications of the various options before us; and some behaviour towards our institutions, which, were it happening in another country, we would almost certainly as diplomats have received instructions to register our concern
Lies, fake news and manipulation
Johnson’s election campaign has been characterised by the dishonesty Hall speaks of. On the same day Hall resigned, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn revealed a leaked government document showing that Johnson has been “deliberately misleading” people about his Brexit withdrawal agreement. Contrary to Johnson’s previous suggestions, Corbyn says the document demonstrates that Johnson’s Brexit deal:
Read on...
has the potential to separate Northern Ireland in practice from whole swathes of the UK’s internal market, meaning Northern Ireland will be symbolically separated from the rest of the union
Meanwhile, the whole of the Conservative election campaign has been characterised by dirty tricks, including:
- Editing videos to misrepresent Labour figures.
- A fake Labour manifesto website.
- Pretending to be an independent fact-checker on social media.
- Setting up fake encounters with voters for the camera.
Hall’s resignation confirms yet again what we already know. Johnson is a serial liar on a level that surpasses even the most notorious Tory MPs. It’s imperative that we vote him out of office on 12 December.
Featured image via Guardian News/ YouTube
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When I see the world today I can’t help but think of the words of Neil Peart (in 1977)…
When they turn the pages of history
When these days have passed long ago
Will they read of us with sadness
For the seeds that we let grow?
We turned our gaze
From the castles in the distance
Eyes cast down
On the path of least resistance
Cities full of hatred
Fear and lies
Withered hearts
And cruel, tormented eyes
Scheming demons
Dressed in kingly guise
Beating down the multitude
And scoffing at the wise
(…the next verse is even more poignant)
Print the next verse.
The hypocrites are slandering
The sacred halls of truth
Ancient nobles showering
Their bitterness on youth
Can’t we find
The minds that made us strong?
Oh can’t we learn
To feel what’s right and what’s wrong?