Problems pile up for Johnson

The PM, Boris Johnson, is now under formal investigation into a relationship he had as Mayor of London with a businesswoman Jennifer Arcuri. I nearly put businesswoman in inverted commas, as there is strong evidence she just says she is, and indeed the telephone number of her office linked to a number in the US, so, no actual business in the UK.

But she was photographed with the PM and ex-mayor several times, he visited her private flat, which did come with pole dancing equipment(!), and gave her access to meetings and received many tens of thousands of pounds of public money.

The relevant information is in the public domain, as are numerous pictures of Johnson and the businesswoman together.

The Greater London Authority says that as a result, they will investigate, because of the information already in the public domain. Johnson's friends and supporters say this is more mud-throwing at a time when he is in the media eye, but this has been known for some time, the details, however, are now coming out. Whether a public official helped a friend profit by misappropriation of public funds should be investigated. It just happens the former mayor is now the Prime Minister.

As with the President of the USA, if you don't want to do the time, don't do the crime.

Last night, the EU's lead negotiator released a letter saying there has been no material change, nor any real concrete proposals on how to mitigate against the backstop, and that the backstop and the WA will not be re-opened, thus driving a coach and horses through Johnson's and Barclay's insistence that negotiations are under way, and nearing a breakthrough.