The pandemic showed us the sacrifices ordinary people were willing to make for the good of the country and those most vulnerable in our society.

Loved ones unable to hold the hands of dying relatives. Parents separated from children, grandparents isolated from their grandchildren.

It was a real life nightmare lived out by many. Who could forget the image of Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II? A forlorn figure during the funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh.

But the rules didn’t apply to those that implemented them. The parties and gatherings didn’t stop for Boris Johnson.

Boris Johnson on his way to a hearing at Parliament in London. PIC: AP Photo/David Cliff

The former PM continues to display a cavalier attitude to standards in public life and believes that the system ought to bend and flex to his whims.

His responses to questions at the privileges committee hearing were dripping in contempt. Everytime Mr Johnson was boxed in with difficult yet important questions, he claimed that rules were merely guidance. Tell that to those that took social distancing legislation seriously, legislation that health experts told us was important to saving lives.

Claims by Mr Johnson that gatherings were held to boost morale are also absurd. Overrun hospital wards with doctors and nurses scrabbling around to save as many lives as they could weren’t afforded the same privilege.

The Tory Party is better off without someone who has such a casual relationship with the truth and sees themselves above everyone else, including the electorate. Mr Johnson should never hold any office of significance, never mind entertaining the idea of a return as PM.

“Like Cincinnatus, I am returning to my plough,” Mr Johnson said when he had to be forced out of Number 10 last summer. For the good of the country he should stay at his plough and stay away from public life.

Privileges committee hearing shows the country is better off without Boris Johnson as PM - The Yorkshire Post says