THE confrontation between Boris Johnson and Sergei Lavrov was an embarrassment, a meeting between a seasoned professional politician and a public schoolboy who never grew up ("Johnson clashes with Lavrov over Crimea and cyber raids", The Herald, December 23). For Mr Johnson to accuse Russia of spying and interfering in elections in other countries and then being unable or unwilling to publicly substantiate the claim is certainly not diplomatic, it’s downright stupid. To accuse Russia of spying on the West as if we did not do the exact same via Project Echelon and its derivatives is asinine. The United States has the biggest eavesdropping station in the world near Harrogate in Yorkshire at the bizarrely named RAF Menwith Hill which despite its name has no RAF involvement.

The number of sovereign states that the US and the UK have interfered with, sometimes by force of arms, outstrips any manipulation by the Russians. The icing on the cake was Mr Johnson’s remarks on the lack of a Russian free press, as if the UK – where 80 per cent of the press is owned by a fistful of billionaires, most of whom are tax exiles – is any exemplar. Sometimes I find it difficult to determine whether politicians are completely stupid and believe what they say or are deliberately lying. It would appear to be OK to lie if you are an MP but not if you are a minister, which poses the question “Why?”