WOW.

It& #39;s been a weird few years in UK politics, but things are now genuinely jaw-dropping. The government has decided to – and I don& #39;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& #39;s career.

We& #39;re now in full, Trump-like, gaslighting the nation territory here. Again, I genuinely don& #39;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& #39;s genuinely astonishing. I worry I& #39;m imagining it.

Yesterday I spoke to someone who encountered Cummings a lot in the education world. They predicted Cummings would stay: "The man& #39;s a sociopath. If he& #39;s sacked he won& #39;t stay quiet, and he knows where too many bodies are buried."

It& #39;s as convincing an explanation as anything.