Well, well, well. The first news wasn't good, was it? Patel was found to have breached the ministerial code, possibly unintentionally. It would be strange if she didn't know the ministerial code, since she's already been sacked for breaching it. But there you go, strange things do happen, that'll be why the word "strange"exists.
Then her claim, or someone's claim, that she was "unaware of her behaviour" was contradicted by Sir Philip Rutnam. He came forward to state that she had been told previously that she shouldn't shout and swear at staff.
Then she apologised in a way that seemed non-apologetic. She claimed she was doing a challenging job, and she didn't set out to upset anyone. The claim is that she shouted and swore at staff; I'm not sure that (in general) one does that, if one doesn't want to upset the people one is addressing. But then, I'm not Priti Patel.
At the same time, our PM and No. 10 continued to claim that Patel *hadn't* breached the ministerial code.
The independent advisor to the PM on ministerial standards, Sir Alex Allan, resigned. I can understand that; if your primary function is to report on ministerial standards, and your report on ministerial standards is ignored, then what would be the point in reporting on ministerial standards?
Then it became apparent that Johnson tried to water down the report, adding further levels of intrigue and complexity to the whole farrago.
It is clear that if you support Johnson, he is loyal to you; Cummings managed his whole Barnard Castle episode without getting the sack. Now Patel has broken the ministerial code and hasn't got the sack. She broke the code on the issue of bullying, which the PM has said he won't tolerate - yet Patel remains in post.
It's almost like Johnson's words and actions don't agree. And maybe that is why watching this government gives me a headache; because the contradiction between what they say they are going to do and what they actually do is so obvious, but it gets called out so rarely.
This also marks a fall in standards in public office; if Patel was sacked three years ago for breaking the ministerial code, but she isn't sacked in 2020 for the same offence, then things have materially changed. Is the ministerial code worth anything at all these days, if the PM can judge that it doesn't apply?
It's a tiring affair, that's for sure.
TTFN.
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