Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has denied that he was paddleboarding when he should have been handling the UK’s response to the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.

He said he could not possibly have been in the sea at the time because the sea was “closed”.

Seriously:

Convinced?

Neither are many other people. Among them are meteorologists in Crete, the country where Raab was on holiday at the time (this in itself being a dereliction of duty; being Boris Johnson’s secretary, one of them needs to be available in the UK if the other is on holiday but it seems they were both off sunning themselves).

According to The Independent:

Greek meteorologist Thodoris Kolydas said: “We did not have any significant weather phenomenon in the area of Crete between 12-15 Aug. The winds were north, with a maximum of 6 to 7 Beaufort [25-38mph] and the weather was locally cloudy”.

And Alexandros Roniotis, whose Cretan Beaches website lists information about the island’s sandy stretches, went even further: “No beaches were closed. Only some gorges during the big fires, but no beaches.”

Raab has made himself look ridiculous (again) and we all noticed.

Some have linked his excuse with some of the other weak and weird explanations for unacceptable behaviour we have heard recently.

While I don’t think he’ll get away with saying he doesn’t sweat (Prince Andrew), I look forward to hearing him explain that he believed the sea was closed because he was suffering from a visual impairment and subsequently drove to El Castillo de Barnard for an eye test (Dominic Cummings).

Then there are these responses:

Last week, Raab faced calls for him to resign because he refused to come back from his holiday and actually do his job.

This will not have improved his position.

Have YOU donated to my crowdfunding appeal, raising funds to fight false libel claims by TV celebrities who should know better? These court cases cost a lot of money so every penny will help ensure that wealth doesn’t beat justice.

https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/mike-sivier-libel-fight/

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