Boris Johnson's woes overshadow trip to ease Ukraine crisis

Boris Johnson was in Belgium and Poland trying to show NATO's resolve in response to Russia but faced questions about a police investigation into lockdown parties held in 10 Downing Street.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson couldn't escape his domestic woes during a trip to Belgium and Poland on Thursday aimed at increasing pressure on Russia over its military buildup near Ukraine.

Johnson was trying to show NATO's resolve in response to Russia massing troops near its neighbour's borders. But he faced questions about a police investigation into lockdown-breaching government parties that has shaken his grip on power.

And a previous Conservative Prime Minister, John Major, excoriated Johnson in a no-holds-barred speech, saying the government's disregard for rules and truth was corroding democracy and shredding the UK's reputation around the world.

“The prime minister and officials broke lockdown laws. Brazen excuses were dreamed up. Day after day the public was asked to believe the unbelievable,” Major said in London.

Major, who led Britain between 1990 and 1997, said Johnson and his government had treated the truth as optional and believed that “they and they alone need not obey the rules.”

“Our democracy requires that the truth and the law should be respected and obeyed, above all by the government," Major said.

“Deliberate lies to Parliament have been fatal to political careers” and “must always be so," he added.