WOW.

It's been a weird few years in UK politics, but things are now genuinely jaw-dropping. The government has decided to – and I don't know how else you can interpret it – risk the continued integrity of a lockdown which has saved many thousands of lives, to save one man's career.

We're now in full, Trump-like, gaslighting the nation territory here. Again, I genuinely don't know how else you can interpret the last couple of days.

In many contexts, this would be a career-ending press conference. And all to protect a single adviser. It's genuinely astonishing. I worry I'm imagining it.

Yesterday I spoke to someone who encountered Cummings a lot in the education world. They predicted Cummings would stay: "The man's a sociopath. If he's sacked he won't stay quiet, and he knows where too many bodies are buried."

It's as convincing an explanation as anything.