VETERAN Labour MP Dennis Skinner once remarked, "When posh boys get into trouble, they sack the servants."
So after Sue Gray's report which criticised the "culture" at Downing Street - the venue for more lockdown parties than an average night at the Holylands - the Prime Minister emerges largely unscathed, still clinging to power.
Not so the junior staff – many of them young women, who have been made scapegoats for co-operating fully with Gray's enquiry.
Of the 126 fines issued by police, 53 were imposed on 35 men and 73 on 48 women – some of whom were asked by their bosses to organise some of those leaving parties.
And this was happening when people couldn't be with their relatives who were at the ultimate leaving - on their deathbeds.
Gray said the senior leadership at the centre, "both political and official" must bear responsibility for this culture – which included red wine on the walls and vomit, just like the good old days when Boris and chums partied with the Bullingdon Club. So the PM announces he is "humbled" but don't worry, he has cleared out Downing Street staff. Deputy heads must roll.
It's times like this that you miss Skinner, aka the Beast from Bolsover, who was famous for straight talking which often got him ejected from parliament.
Skinner was once reprimanded by the speaker for saying 50 per cent of Tories were crooks. When told to retract, he said: "Okay, half of the Tories opposite are not crooks."
I doubt there's as many as half now among surely one of the worst governments ever to rule the country, aided and abetted by backbenchers who couldn't find a backbone on an X-ray.
Luckily Johnson has also been saved by the Metropolitan police whose attitude to the whole investigation was based on the "Move along now, nothing to see here" philosophy. Panorama and Sue Gray have painted a different picture.
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UNIONISTS have been getting their knickers in something of a twist at the visit by a US delegation, headed by congressman Richard Neal.
Most of it came from the "Mind your own business" wing who have always resented American involvement, since it usually comes distinctly green-tinted. And you don't have to search many newspaper cuttings to find Representative Neal in cosy set-ups with Sinn Féin and also, in his day, John Hume.
It's true that the nationalist side has always historically had a more sympathetic hearing among the US political classes and unionism never managed to capitalise on their own distinctive links to the White House over the centuries.
Let's face it, American foreign policy often has little to recommend it when they go messing with other countries as its misadventures in Vietnam, south America and the Middle East will testify. Nor does the British Empire.
But on matters Irish, the Yanks' goodwill is genuine. They regard themselves as co-guarantors of the Good Friday Agreement, and they have invested time and talent in the peace process.
One respected unionist commentator lamented that their intervention was "unhelpful" as they had already "taken a side".
But what other side could they have taken? They are on the side of honouring international agreements, but in favour of negotiating to sort out the problems caused by the protocol.
Could they really be on the side of the British government which has announced its willingness to introduce legislation challenging the agreement they already signed up to?
The Americans are also a pragmatic lot, and US interests will trump (oops) any other consideration. They want a united Europe, not least with the madness in Ukraine and unease over China, in mind.
Time the DUP learned about pragmatism too.
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IF air travel was ever a glamorous way to see the world, it must have been way before my time.
It just seems to get progressively worse as the years go on. From post 9/11 security checks in case you are carrying dangerous lip gloss or terrorist-approved mascara, to standing barefoot while your shoes are scanned.
Now there's the added jeopardy of airline roulette where you turn up for your holiday flights to discover the flight's been cancelled and everybody who works for the guilty airline has disappeared from the airport, leaving passengers wandering around trying to find out what to do next.
And this is happening in May, months ahead of the summer rush. Maybe we'll have to stay at home for the holidays. City break in Bangor, anyone?
