For a moment it felt as if the dam might be about to burst. To let the anger in. On Tuesday, the Commons had been at its most pompous, most clubbable worst. Drowning in self-righteousness as the defence secretary, John Healey, gave a statement on the leaked Afghan email, the superinjunction and the £850m bill to the taxpayer. It was deeply regrettable, MPs on all sides agreed, but in the end probably just one of those things. Best to move on and not rock the boat. Parliament at its best and all that.
On Wednesday, we got to hear Keir Starmer’s view on the scandal in his opening remarks at prime minister’s questions. He seemed to have moved on from Healey’s acquiescent cover-up. Yes, Labour in opposition had shared the previous government’s commitment to protecting Afghans who had worked for the UK army, but he had consistently warned of the Tories’ handling of the crisis. The failings were manifold and former ministers had a great deal to answer for. The gloves were off. This was a party political issue.
