When the chips are down. When all else seems lost. At least Rishi Sunak will always have a Chris Philp. When they realised Nadhim Zahawi was not going to be fired and that Richard Sharp was not going to resign, most ministers ran for the hills. Switched off their phones. Hid under the duvet. Refused to answer the door. Just in case they were asked to go out on Tuesday’s media round. They had their pride – in a few cases, their self-worth – to consider.
But not Philp. Not the ever loyal, hopelessly devoted to Rish!, junior policing minister. A man who has never passed a pile of cold sick he wasn’t tempted to eat. Who would do anything – ANYTHING – to curry favour with the boss class. His not to wonder why, his but to do or die. And die he does, time and time again, on his feet as he’s sent out to defend the indefensible. Either his short-term memory is completely shot and he has no recollection of his past failures or he genuinely doesn’t care. Being humiliated on national TV and radio is a badge of honour.
