Boris Johnson struggles to name favourite kid's book - despite doing 'lots of parenting'

Prime Minister Boris Johnson sat down for a Q&A with Mumsnet founder Justine Roberts and was met with some hard-hitting questions - and several of his answers caused a stir

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Boris Johnson was grilled over Partygate, lies and his parenting in a brilliant Q&A session by Mumsnet founder Justine Roberts.

The Prime Minister claimed it wouldn't be "responsible" for him to resign and insisted that he didn't eat any of the birthday cake served at the Partygate bash.

He also opened up about being "very taken aback" by his fine from the Metropolitan Police over the lockdown birthday party and answered several questions about being a dad.

A Mumsnet user asked if Johnson was a "do as I say" or a "do as I do" kind of parent, to which he simply replied that he was "doing a lot right now", had "changed a lot of nappies recently" and was "very fast" at doing them.

Roberts then asked what his favourite children's book to read as a bedtime story was - and it took a while to get an answer.

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The Prime Minister took a few moments to think, then explained that he likes books from his own childhood, with Dr. Seuss being a favourite.

"I like the ones I used to like to be honest," he said.

Johnson then went on to quote from The Cat In The Hat Comes Back, saying: "There was no time for play. There was no time for fun. This was no time for games, there was work to be done."

He added that "there was work to be done" was the motto inside Number 10.

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On social media, Twitter users weren't impressed with his answer.

One mum wrote: "As a parent of toddlers, you remember books as kids demand the same books over and over again. So when Johnson claimed he’s doing so much with the kids but eventually only remembered the book *HE* liked and recommended for kids of at least 4 years, I think he lied."

Another posted: "I just played this clip & my 11 year old overheard. The moment it stopped she said 'you can tell he’s lying: you can tell he never spends any time with his kids'. Yup."

Someone else said: "Hilarious..seeing him desperately trying to think of a children’s book he might somehow have encountered ..yet he’s very au fait with Peppa Pig …"

As well as these questions, the PM was also asked one that isn't given to men, about how he balances being a parent with such a demanding career.

"The more you put in, the more you get out," he proclaimed.

"Carrie obviously does more than I do, I'm not going to conceal that fact from you, she does far more than I do, but I think if you really sat her down and interrogated her she would admit I do quite a bit too."

What did you think of the Q&A? Let us know in the comments below.