Accusations of lying pile up against Boris Johnson. Does it matter?

Analysis: MPs and broadcasters are losing their reluctance to openly call out the PM's deceit

It was a jaw-dropping moment. This week the SNP Commons leader, Ian Blackford, asked Boris Johnson a question in parliament that was unsurprising and yet somehow extraordinary. I can't possibly call the PM a liar in this house," Blackford said, beaming in remotely from Scotland. But ... are you a liar, prime minister?"

There was an awkward silence. It was as if Johnson - facing off at the dispatch box against the Labour leader, Keir Starmer - was genuinely mulling an answer. The Speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, intervened, chastising Blackford for his unparliamentary remark. MPs were not allowed to accuse each other of lying, Hoyle said, even if this was what appeared to be going on.