FOR the first time in its 76-year history, Unicef plans to send food to children in the UK. A land, by the way, that has 145 billionaires. I know we run the real risk of becoming inured as ethical barbarity follows moral atrocity but think on this for a moment: a wealthy country is allowing its kids to starve.

Remember too, this is a government that consistently and nauseatingly proclaims that whatever it does is “world beating”. Well now we seem to be approaching world- beating levels of starvation.

This is not the behaviour of a mature democracy. It is more like that of a banana republic. You know, the sort of country where there’s been a coup and a bunch of desperados get their hands on the levers of power, then proceed to empty the nation’s coffers, while enriching their friends.

Another common characteristic of a banana republic (BR) is for the ruling elite to seek to hold on to power by whatever means necessary. They often amend the constitution to ensure the ruling group stays the ruling group.

Here, of course, there is no need to change the constitution if one can

re-write it at will to suit one’s purposes. In this sense, the UK has become the banana republic to outmatch all others. How envious despots worldwide must be when they see the ease with which this country has joined the BR ranks?

No need to put troops on the streets, no need for a display of tanks and military might to frighten the populace into submission, all that was necessary was to get a decent majority in parliament and to disregard all conventions.

This week the UK government’s corruption reached such a magnitude that it made headline news in the New York Times. The NY Times reports that “£11 billion went to companies run by friends and associates of politicians in the Conservative party”.

READ MORE: Scathing New York Times pieces details Tory 'waste, negligence and cronyism'

Above all, what was needed was an utter disregard for morality; with an absence of any feeling for the disadvantaged or those not close to the seat of power. Some mistake the cause of this maladministration. It is not predicated upon antipathy of those over whom they have control; rather it is based on apathy. They truly don’t care. Outside of staged photo ops and public relations tricks, they do not meet anyone who is poor or disadvantaged.

If proof of this studied detachment were needed, it was supplied by Jacob Rees Mogg who branded the Unicef help as “a political stunt”.

The UK government has spent millions on friends and supporters. They have done so in plain sight. They have repeatedly lied and dissembled, without shame. They bent the UK’s unwritten constitution to their will.

In so doing, they have confirmed the wisdom of the old saying that: “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

In the real world, the first duty of any government is to protect its citizens. By any measure the UK has failed. And in presiding over vast gaps in income, it just does not care. Any decent administration would feel deep and abiding shame to so treat its most vulnerable citizens.

This heinous government has created a greater casualty. Morality. When people see their rulers behaving badly with impunity, some are tempted to ape this behaviour. Low ethics becomes the norm, not the exception. As we head towards midwinter, we ought to expect a surge in spivvery. As food supplies shrink and supermarket shelves empty, there will be those whose siren call is “I can get that for you – at a price”.

If we are not careful, lying and dissembling may become the norm; and double dealing the new public standard. And we can expect things to get much worse, before they get better. The growing pressures of Covid-19, Brexit and climate change are each beyond this administration’s ability to cope.

But, eventually, this present stinking, mendacious, bunch of incompetents will be gone, and we can build anew.

The whole country lost as a result of this Tory government, but what’s important is that we do not lose the lesson. And the lesson is this: we need a supreme law that limits what jobbing politicians can do. This supreme law is called a constitution.

With a written, codified constitution, placing sovereignty firmly in the hands of the people, we can ensure there is never a repeat of the horrors we are presently enduring.

At the very heart of this constitution ought to be a solid moral base that ensures the weakest in society are protected and no citizen is ever put knowingly at risk.

After 35 shows the TNT show is taking a seasonal break. Over the Xmas period there will be a chance to enjoy again the shows featuring Brian Cox and Eddi Reader.