Clearly rattled PM completely forgets the threat to his MPs to call a general election if they don’t give him what he wants

A flustered Boris Johnson delivers his speech – well, not really

A clearly rattled Boris Johnson managed to make a complete mess of the ‘big’ speech he had called at short notice this evening. His helpers had trailed that he was going to threaten to call a general election under the Fixed Term Parliaments Act (FTPA) if MPs dare not to give him what he wants this week:

But what “Boris Johnson will say” turned out not to be what Boris Johnson actually said.

Johnson stammered and stuttered his way through a meandering speech in which he often repeated himself – with the sound of a noisy protest nearby clearly audible on the coverage – and then started saying how he didn’t want a general election.

But he hadn’t mentioned there being one, let alone threatened to bring a vote on holding one:

Johnson’s aides tried desperately to cover for his blunder, furiously briefing journalists with what he was supposed to have said:

The complict BBC simply acted as if he had not blundered, putting up text over a short clip that Johnson had ‘warned’ his MPs – and then faded out the clip before it became apparent that he hadn’t:

But Johnson’s complete failure was there on camera, reducing his supposedly big speech to a rambling piece of nonsense-bluster.

Johnson’s confusion and worry was written large on his face and in his words – and lack of them – suggesting his confidence about a general election is anything but what he wants the public to think.

Broadcasters and the press will not mention it, of course – so it’s over to SKWAWKBOX readers to spread the word.

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