The National:

BORIS Johnson is not known for his strength of character.

He was sacked from the Tory front bench in 2004 for lying to party leader Michael Howard about an affair. His fondness for fibs has not dulled much in the intervening years.

Just this week, he lied repeatedly in the Commons about no other country in the world having a functioning test and trace system.

No, the Prime Minister has clearly been forced to accentuate strength of a different kind.

Johnson has been pictured on the front page of the Mail on Sunday doing a supposedly spontaneous press up to prove he’s as “fit as a butcher’s dog”.

The Tory leader told the paper he was “full of beans” following his coronavirus illness as he unveiled plans for the UK’s economic recovery from the crisis.

The paper also revealed that the PM was even doing the bare minimum as a father by "helping with nappies and night feeds".

According to the Mail, Johnson volunteered to do the press-ups “to show you how fit I am” during the interview, and proceeded to “hurl himself to the floor”.

WATCH: Boris Johnson doubles down on blatant lie about coronavirus apps

But not everyone was impressed by show of strength.

One person asked on social media: "Obvious question here, but why is the Prime Minister bragging about how healthy he is to Sunday papers while there are people dead, dying and horrifyingly ill in hospitals, in no small part, thanks to him?"

Another said: "I see Britain's nervous breakdown is going well."

There was no end to the ridicule.

It wasn't long before Johnson was compared to another strongman leader.

One Twitter user posted: "We're not far away from a Putin style topless while riding a horse picture, are we?"