PMQs: Boris’s nadir

The bombshell at bay. That’s how Boris looked at today’s PMQs. Deflated, cornered, winded and lifeless. Gone were the chuckles and the mischievous jests, the punning quips and the poetic asides. He kicked off with a scripted apology that had two objectives: to neutralise public fury and to wrong-foot Sir Keir Starmer.

It did neither. Last night, footage emerged of Downing Street staff at a mock Q&A session making jokes about parties at No. 10 during lockdown. ‘I was also furious to see that clip,’ said Boris, as if suggesting that he was angrier than the angriest person in the country. He expressed his sorrow but couched it with lawyerly care. ‘I apologise for the impression that it gives,’ he said, dodging any admission of wrong-doing. Not exactly helpful to his cause.

The cabinet secretary has been asked to investigate the allegations. ‘If rules were broken,’ he said morosely, ‘there will be disciplinary action for all those involved.’