Lying, rule-breaking, and a surfeit of cake have brought down Boris Johnson’s premiership just two and a half years after his December 2019 election triumph. But in years to come, his era as prime minister is likely to be remembered for something even more corrosive than Partygate: a cronyism that favoured the politically connected with top jobs and Covid contracts worth billions.
Almost forgotten now is the moment in November 2021 when Johnson tried to tear down the whole system for maintaining standards in public life.
