After leading the defence of Charlie Elphicke and Imran Ahmed Khan, last night it was Boris’s turn to be backed up by MP Adam Holloway. Shortly after the result, Holloway appeared on BBC Newsnight to bat for the PM. Standing in Central Lobby, iPad in-hand, Holloway accused the programme of mocking up Boris to “look like Hannibal Lecter“. He had a screenshot to ‘prove’ it…

“I think there is great damage to the reputation of politics and… it should also do great damage to organisations like the BBC. This programme I am on now was showing pictures of him looking like Hannibal Lecter at the beginning… you’ve got razor blades. I mean, does that guy look like someone who has been given a birthday cake, or someone who’s just been locked up for something at the Old Bailey? I mean this thing has been totally blown out of proportion, when actually we should be thanking this man.”

The accusation will remind all keen politicos of the equally absurd 2018 row when Corbynistas, not least Owen Jones, accused the BBC of Photoshopping Corbyn’s hat to look ‘more Soviet’. The Boris fightback starts here ladies and gentlemen…