Unparalleled, shocking, unprecedented: A sitting prime minister and his chancellor found by the police to have broken the laws he himself not only set while in office but repeatedly told the public to stick to during the national COVID emergency.
But weeks ago, this would have been an event likely to trigger to confidence vote in Boris Johnson whose moral and political authority collapsed at the beginning of the year following revelations over successive alleged lockdown breaches in Downing Street.
Instead on Tuesday, when the fixed penalty notices were announced, the vast majority of the parliamentary Conservative Party kept their counsel, while the cabinet came out in support for Mr Johnson and Rishi Sunak. Mr Johnson appears to have defied political gravity yet again.
The primary reason for this swing in fortunes is the war in Ukraine. The popular refrain – even from those who were openly hostile to Mr Johnson just a few weeks back – is “now is not the time”.
You can read Rigby’s full analysis by clicking on the link below