ARE the Metropolitan Police “weak, gullible, incompetent or stupid”, asked one Tory MP after they cleared Boris Johnson of attending illegal parties only for photographic evidence to emerge of him attending what looks very much like an illegal party.

Labour accused Mr Johnson of taking the British public for fools; the Prime Minister has certainly made the police look foolish.

It is true that there are more important stories than Downing Street parties – yesterday’s glimpse at this autumn’s energy prices will fill lower and middle income earners with white fear – but we cannot talk about them, or the adequacy of the Government’s response, because more and more astounding evidence about partygate keeps emerging.

The Prime Minister has broken the law and he has misled Parliament – the only question is whether the misleading was deliberate or not.

Today comes the Gray report. How much more damning evidence will it contain?

What will it say about the culture Mr Johnson presided over, even fostered, in Downing Street? Nowadays, no factory or office workers drink routinely at work. Little wonder the Covid rules were so woolly if those writing them were under the influence. Little wonder the Treasury is desperate to get out to a sober town like Darlington if the London culture is so alcohol-orientated.

Despite the Met’s £500,000 investigation, we are now back to where we were at the start of the year, wondering how much more damaged the Prime Minister can become before Conservative MPs realise he is indefensible.