A father has found a perfect scapegoat for all his questionable parenting decisions: the pandemic lockdowns. Nathan Muir, 46, humorously claims that the Covid inquiry's verdict on lockdown's impact on children has effectively exonerated him. With his kids' childhoods 'brought to a halt,' any behavioral quirks they exhibit are clearly not his fault.

Muir quips, 'Bad father and bad role model, my arse. It's lockdown's fault my son Jed thinks shoplifting is a viable career path. With the prime minister on TV saying skipping school could save lives, how could he not become a hero in his own mind?'

He admits he was unprepared for homeschooling, delegating the task to YouTube, which, as he discovered, isn't just for educational videos. 'During those two years off school, I thought it was best not to interfere. I'm not to blame if they didn't learn basic arithmetic or how to hold their liquor,' he jokes.

Next time the school calls him in, he's ready to lay it all on the pandemic. 'For a moment there, I almost blamed myself,' he admits with a chuckle.