THE Metropolitan police have handed Boris Johnson exactly what he wanted –time.
The force has asked Sue Gray to make “minimal references” to the parties they are investigating in her report ahead of its widely anticipated release - the timing of which is still up in the air.
The reason? To avoid prejudicing the police inquiry.
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The real impact? Johnson could stay in post for weeks or even months as this runs on.
Any hope of a conclusion this week or next has been rubbished by this latest announcement, and though it may give the PM the time he needs it will only prolong the public outcry.
The case should have been handed to another police force to start with – the Met is too closely linked to Downing Street, and no matter what the outcome of the probe calls of a cover up will not be far behind.
This development, although Number 10 denies any involvement in the Met’s request, is undoubtedly a small win for Johnson, but will do more damage to the public trust.
Dick, left, has given Johnson, right, exactly what he needs - time
It gives him breathing space to claim he can turn things around, to try and get the party on side, and it's proof of his vain belief that the public will forgive and forget over these numerous scandals.
Johnson said in a 2006 BBC interview that his strategy was to have so many gaffes that the press don’t know which one to focus on.
He’s certainly stuck to his guns on that one – from the Owen Paterson affair to being “ambushed by cake”, the past few years have been relentless with scandals and reports of bad behaviour in Number 10.
Has it desensitised the public? No, but Johnson will think that it has. After all, reports suggested that he and Carrie Johnson were brooding at Chequers, adamant they had done nothing wrong, because they operate at such a high level of privilege compared to the rest of us, why would they?
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During a visit to North Wales Johnson was plagued by questions about the report being released in full – which he insisted it would be – he started to pivot to the “getting on with the job” line.
In a pooled interview with broadcasters on Thursday, Johnson was asked if he will publish the report without any redactions.
He said: “I can’t go beyond what I said yesterday, but I stick completely by what I’ve said to the House of Commons.
“But what I hope people understand is that while we wait for all that to go on, we’ve got to get on and the Government is getting on with our work.”
Johnson "getting on with the job" in North Wales on Sunday during a site visit
This is typical Johnson. The local elections in May are imminent and if we continue in the limbo that we’re currently in – he will try and ride it out until then.
A bad performance could push Tory MPs to send in their letters to the 1922 committee, but it is a stain on our democracy that the public have no recourse to remove Johnson, or to call a general election, it means we have to play by establishment rules, and they change every day.
Tory MPs are looking out for their own interests, there is no doubt of that, or Johnson would be out of office by now.
One thing is for sure – the Met’s involvement benefits the PM more than it does anyone else, and certainly not the public interest.
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