It is difficult to entertain a seminar in lockdown caution from the man who drove to Barnard Castle in April 2020 in order to check his own eyesight. Or indeed swallow wholesale the musings of a former adviser with the sharpest of axes to grind.
Yet the accusation from Dominic Cummings that the Prime Minister was aware of a party in the Number 10 garden must be examined. Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab has rejected the claims, but accepted the long-held principle that if a minister lies to Parliament and fails to correct the matter, they should resign.
Boris Johnson stood at the despatch box in the House of Commons to deny he had any prior knowledge that a party was taking place. If Johnson misled Parliament, he will be in mortal danger.
Of the Prime Minister’s many problems, perhaps the greatest is that each additional revelation makes it harder to envisage Sue Gray’s report being considered the end of the matter. Indeed Gray must be wondering whether she has access to all the information and if ministers and advisers are being fully honest with her, given that further information seems to be revealed on a daily basis.
The anger from the public is palpable. The drip-drip of revelations has turned into a torrent that threatens to overwhelm the Government. This cannot go on indefinitely.
