Boris Johnson "a wounded animal" says Sussex politics expert
The Prime Minister is due to have a phone call with Vladimir Putin this afternoon to discuss the situation in Ukraine
Boris Johnson has been described as a "wounded animal" following recent party scandals, that have many within the Prime Minister's own party withdrawing their support for him.
A report into parties at Downing Street, some during the height of lockdown, was released yesterday and found 'failures of leadership and judgment'.
In the commons yesterday, Boris Johnson apologised and said there would be changes within Number 10.
Professor Robert Barrington from the University of Sussex's Centre for the Study of Corruption tells Greatest Hits Radio that the recent scandals will seriously impact how the UK is seen on the international stage.
He said: "Vladimir Putin I think will be delighted with what has happened recently, because Britain isn't looking like a big player on the world stage.
"Ultimately it's how you play out on the world stage, your stature as a leader, are you seen as a statesman? Are you seen as credible? Those kind of things are really important during those international meetings. If you're a wounded individual then you don't carry the clout that you would normally carry, even as the head of a major economy and a G7 country like the UK.
"It's really interesting to me how many people around the world do look at the British parliament still for setting their own standards. Seeing that Britain is supposed to operate a good, functioning, thriving democracy, that sets an example to others. The UK isn't doing very well in that regard at the moment and certainly there's a lot of international comment about what on earth is happening to the UK."