Never mind COP26, it's all sleaze sleaze sleaze

The media can be merciless. Boris Johnson held a press conference at COP26 to highlight what he sees as the successes during the climate-change summit in Glasgow but all reporters wanted to ask about was Tory sleaze allegations. No wonder Boris looked at his watch and said he had a train to catch. Of course the reporters asked him about Tory sleaze because back in London that's what everyone is talking about. Well, everyone in the Westminster bubble - MPs and political reporters. I don't suppose the general public gives a monkeys about whether MPs have half a dozen other jobs while serving their constituents. It's not against parliamentary rules provided they can show they are devoting more time to the constituency and Commons responsibilities than earning big money doing this or that. Boris said MPs having other jobs is good for democracy. I'm not sure what that means. Anyway, his press conference was all about this issue and whether the former Conservative attorney general Sir Geoffrey Cox should be earning so much money while swanning around in British Virgin Islands. I doubt that has helped to spread democracy but Boris seems to think it's all good. The trouble is once the ugly "sleaze" word has made the headlines, almost everything MPs and ministers do comes under the microscope and if there is even a hint of dodginess, it turns into a naming and shaming game for the media. It happens every few years and it's by no means always the Tories who get sleaze accusations hurled at them. So watch out Labour MPs. While you are bashing the Tories over sleaze and corruption you better examine your own lives and cupboards and see what skeletons are lying around. As for COP26, Boris made one last plea to the world to do something about global warming and sent off for his train with "sleaze" ringing in his ears. At least this time he went back to London by train. Last week he took a private plane to the capital from Glasgow so that he could attend a party for him by his old Telegraph chums at the Garrick Club. He learned that lesson at least.