Boris Johnson is now in what’s known in cricket as the ‘Nervous Nineties’, when a batsman becomes so anxious about reaching his century that he takes unusually conservative decisions – or is so nervous he accidentally gets himself out. We are now in what could be the final few days of the Brexit negotiations, and the Prime Minister is trying to be unusually cautious about what’s said and done. Ministers are being urged to hold their nerve rather than make comments which could push the talks off course, and No. 10 is remaining very tight-lipped.
In a cabinet call this afternoon which a number of ministers described as ‘businesslike’, Johnson updated his top team but made clear that there wasn’t a great deal to say at this time. He took questions from everyone who wanted to make a contribution in the conference call, which lasted around 25 minutes, but wasn’t always able to furnish them with much more information.
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