The front page of The Telegraph is a sight to behold this morning. The main headline is: No 10 police questioned by Gray over ‘parties’. Sue Gray has apparently obtained a lot of information from the metropolitan police who control access to Downing Street. The paper quotes a senior source when asked how significant the information is, who said, “Put it this way, if Boris Johnson is still prime minister at the end of the week, I’d be very surprised.”
It looks like the end is nigh.
TELEGRAPH: No10 police questioned by Gray over ‘parties’ #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/N0DIuRIAz5
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) January 23, 2022
This is the newspaper that made Johnson famous, employed him firstly as a reporter in Brussels, then as a columnist on £275k a year, supported him in his various leadership bids and in general acted as cheerleader for all things Boris. Now they seem to have turned on him - along with many others.
It seems this week will be a watershed in British politics. It’s importance cannot be overstated. A sitting prime minister being forced out of office, not because of policy disagreements but due to personal failings. The last time this happened was in 1922 when Lloyd George resigned over the sale of honours, something which has now become a routine if hidden feature of British political life.
The Met may also be in trouble
The metropolitan police leadership has come in for a lot of criticism for failing even to make enquiries about the partygate affair but The Telegraph report that the ordinary officers on duty at the entrance to Downing Street were happy to speak to Sue Gray.
This from this morning's edition:
"Amid reports that some Number 10 staffers have been “circling the wagons” by holding back information from the Gray inquiry, and even deleting incriminating photographs and WhatsApp messages, the police officers are likely to be seen as impartial observers.
"While police officers cannot be compelled to speak to Ms Gray – unlike Downing St staff – it is understood they were 'only too willing' to co-operate.
"One source said on Sunday night: 'Met officers have spoken to Sue Gray now, as you would expect, and have been able to provide a lot of information.'
"Asked how significant the material they had disclosed was, the source added: 'Put it this way, if Boris Johnson is still Prime Minister by the end of the week, I’d be very surprised.'
"Scotland Yard has come under fire for refusing to launch a criminal investigation into allegations of parties during lockdown.
"However, sources have said that the officers on duty in Downing Street have “nothing to hide” and their testimony is beyond reproach."
The lies have caught up with Johnson
Attending parties- even when they’re illegal under laws passed by parliament - is a serious mistake but had he come clean at the beginning when The Mirror first revealed the 18 December 2020 Christmas party, he might (just) have survived. It is the lies that followed which will be his downfall.
Johnson has repeatedly stood up in and out of the House and categorically denied there were any parties at all, that he did not know of any parties and finally that he didn’t know (and nobody told him otherwise) the party he attended was a party and therefore against the rules.
Considering the huge damage Johnson has already inflicted on this country and the outright lies he has told on every imaginable topic this recent spate of fibs is on the mild side. Yet it is something people connect with.
I am fortunate, my family didn’t suffer from covid at all, but many others lost loved ones and are furious that Johnson seemed to ignore or be oblivious to the rules in force at the time.
Partygate has finally lifted the veil on his mendacity which is going to become clear to millions in the next couple of weeks. And once you are identified as a liar it’s hard to recover trust.
This is true of anyone, even after a single white lie, blurted out under pressure. But Johnson offences are of a different order. Years of practice have enabled him to lie with ease. I bet he wouldn’t trigger a lie detector. And he has gotten away with it for years, essentially all of his adult life. So, he is now finding it very hard to counter his own repeated televised assurances that there were no parties.
He was left with having to tell Beth Rigby at Sky News that nobody told him the party he went to was against the rules that he himself had announced on national television. It was, as she pointed out, ludicrous. But he was prepared to make himself look stupid to avoid admitting a lie or a whole series of lies.
So, he cannot now concede that he lied without having to admit he has been telling whoppers on a daily basis for weeks and weeks. Not easy, eh? He is now a serious liability.
What happens next?
I suspect if there is a vote of no confidence Johnson will lose it. The risk to the party of him hanging on though the summer is too great.
Normally, if a Tory leader loses such a vote he or she stays on as PM to allow an election process to take place. But I am not sure Johnson will want to do so and we may get Raab as temporary PM or some other interim leader. The whole thing could get very messy.
The modern Tory party is quite unstable with cracks appearing between the various factions so don't be surprised if open warfare breaks out. They will all want their own man or woman elected and it could quickly become a battle for the party's soul.
Buckle up, it should be a fascinating week in Westminster.
