I have never met either Priti – Pee-pee – Patel or Sir Philip Rutnam.  I do not know the nature of their relationship, save that there is reason to believe it somewhat acrimonious; and, as to the rights and wrongs, of recent accusations, it is not for me opine. So, I won’t.

What I will do, however, is comment on the invidious position in which the Cabinet Secretary is now placed.  A considerable number of Tory MPs, including to my incredulity, the prime minister himself, have issued robust statements in support of P-P, who is, they say, a first class minister doing an excellent job.  Aspersions have been cast against the Sir Philips of Westminster, artfully suggesting that senior civil servants lack the necessary skills and training to deliver, and that when up against a determined minister, that can lead to “frustration.”  They have even cited examples (oddly, all from Labour administrations) – Dennis Healey is the one I heard most recently – of robust ministers who encountered civil service obduracy.  My memory may be going: robust he may have been, but I do not remember any civil servant resigning in the face of bullying from Lord Healey, far less of taking legal action against him.

So, if the Cabinet Secretary comes down in support of his colleague, the wrath of the Tories will be upon him; and if he does not, one may wonder what message that will send the thousands of civil servants charged with implementing the policies of the most right wing government in living memory, comprised to a shocking degree, of yes-men and incompetents.

It is for those reasons that Labour is absolutely right to call for an independent enquiry by a suitably experienced and impartial lawyer.