Boris Johnson has prompted widespread ridicule after claiming he has never told a lie during his political career in a televised interview.
Appearing on ITV, the prime minister was asked whether he could look the presenter “in the eye” and say he had never lied in his career – spanning back to 2001 when he was first elected as an MP.
“Absolutely not, absolutely not,” Mr Johnson replied. “I have never tried to deceive the public and I’ve always tried to be absolutely frank.”
Pressed again, he continued: “I may have got things wrong, I may have been mistaken, but I’ve never tried to deceive people about the way I see things.”
Mr Johnson later added: “I am not going to pretend that in my political career I have not said or done things that have caused offence. I’ve made mistakes, I’ve certainly made mistakes.”
