THE focus in Parliament, as with the media, has been on Boris Johnson.

The Privileges Committee report was more scathing than anyone imagined, and no doubt the former PM himself, as his response was even more petulant than usual. He really is a charlatan who has demeaned the office of Prime Minister. Exposed at last, he shows no remorse either for those who suffered through his actions or even for his former party colleagues as he trashes recent allies.

His legacy is the Brexit shambles, a country now denigrated if not despised around the globe, and a society and economy on its knees. They say all political careers end in failure, but he has taken it to a new nadir.

Punishment should be severe, but he’ll be well looked after by his billionaire pals. The price is paid by ordinary folk, as he swans off to make millions. That was shown by a report by Loughborough University on behalf of the End Child Poverty Coalition, a broad-based grouping of charities, faith groups, trade unions and others. It disclosed that 21.1 per cent of children in East Lothian were living in poverty. That’s 4,765 bairns of all ages.

These aren’t the offspring of the feckless or ne’er-do-wells – 67 per cent were in a household where at least one adult was working. Households with additional needs, such as through disability, whether with the adults or through the health of a child, were also there; along with others simply floundering, as the cost of living lapped over them.

That’s the Johnson legacy and it’s been worsened by Truss and her crazy economics. More of the same simply won’t fix it. The Scottish Government’s Child Payment has helped mitigate the hardship. But much more is needed and a more radical agenda requires being pursued.

Another recent report confirmed that the richest 50 families in the UK have more wealth than the bottom half of the population. That’s obscene and why it’s time for a wealth tax and wealth redistribution.