Well known Northamptonshire lawyer and campaigner goes viral with 30 million people watching Boris Johnson video

A Northamptonshire man has gone viral after more than 30 million people watched his video slamming Boris Johnson for 'lying to parliament and breaking the ministerial code'.

Well known political commentator Peter Stefanovic, who lives in the county, says his viral video provides 'irrefutable evidence Boris Johnson has already broken the ministerial code' by 'misleading parliament and then steadfastly and arrogantly refusing to correct the record'.

The video has been debated on mainstream television including Sky News and ITV but Mr Stefanovic is calling out the BBC for not doing the same, which he describes as a 'shameful national embarrassment' from the public broadcaster.

Mr Stefanovic said that the 'very foundation of our legal system depends on trust and credibility' otherwise 'lies and false statements put our democracy at risk'.

The lawyer and campaigner said: "I believe the overwhelming majority of people in this country are honest. Why should we expect any less from those holding high office?

"That was initially the primary driver for the film. People watching it will draw their own conclusions on whether they believe the Prime Minister is barefaced lying.

"The ministerial code itself, on literally it’s very first page, says 'it is of paramount importance that ministers give accurate and truthful information to Parliament and correct any inadvertent error at the earliest opportunity'.

"My hope with this particular film was to educate the public to the fact that this Prime Minister has flouted and broken the ministerial code, not just once but over and over again by making completely false statements to Parliament and then steadfastly refusing to correct the record. That’s completely unacceptable.

"The rules apply equally if not more so to the Prime Minister and let’s not forget the Nolan principles, one of which is honesty. By refusing to correct what he knows to be blatantly false statements he has broken that principle too.

"My film provides irrefutable evidence he has already done so [break the ministerial Code] by misleading parliament and then steadfastly and arrogantly refusing to correct the record."

A No 10 spokesperson responded by saying: “The Prime Minister follows the ministerial Code, which includes the Nolan principles, when conducting himself in public life.”

Mr Stefanovic went on to say that people care about the issue which is reflected in the viewing figures of his video.

The commentator said: "I think we are witnessing something extraordinary here. Thousands of people have come together to share the film as a way of voicing their protest and say “Yes” we do care about dishonesty in politics.

"Getting the film seen that many times would not have been possible without people caring enough about this issue to share it. I think in many ways people have felt empowered by it, by being able to voice their protest in this way and I think we shall see much more of this going forward

"The film has obviously had a big impact. It’s sparked Questions in Parliament raised by Caroline Lucas and has inspired six opposition party leaders to join together to call upon the Commons speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, to allow a vote on an inquiry into Boris Johnson’s “consistent failure to be honest.

"The film itself was recently broadcasted and debated on Good Morning Britain. It has also been raised with a minister by Kay Burley on Sky, so it’s continuing to get a lot of traction.

"What I do find inexplicable is that the BBC, our public service broadcaster, has gone out of its way to avoid reporting on the film, even today at 30 million views they refuse to comment on it.

"That our public service broadcaster has refused to report it is a shameful national embarrassment."

A BBC News spokesperson said: “The BBC takes our responsibility to hold those in power to account very seriously. Across our coverage and on dedicated platforms such as BBC Reality Check, we routinely, rigorously and impartially scrutinise statements made by politicians from all parties.”