Inquiries

"Minister, two basic rules of government: Never look into anything you don't have to. And never set up an enquiry unless you know in advance what its findings will be." Sir Humphrey Appleby. Yes Minister.

At the most basic level, DAG said yesterday, is an inquiry only happens when the checks and balance of the machinery of Government has failed. It is then fair to say that setting up an inquiry by a Minister or a Prime Minister who called for it, is an explicit admission of a failure. Because what happened should not have happened.

The inquiry set up by Johnson to look int the series of parties by Sue Grey was formed on the terms of reference that it would be headed by the Cabinet Secretay, her boss. But he had to step back from the inquiry when it emerged another party took place in his office. So, the terms of reference are not for Gray to carry out, but her boss, and so she is investigating him, and Simon Case's boss, Boris Johnson.

The terms of reference for the scope of the inquiry really limits as to what she can report on: “the investigations will establish whether individual disciplinary action is warranted” and “any specific HR action against individuals will remain confidential” which means that this is a human resources issure, not actual law breaking, and not in yerms of the Prime MInister.

As has been said before, neither Gray, Case has a constituational role in the Government or democracy, so an inquiry held by either one of them would be limited, and the inquiry itself was set up by one of the people it sets out to investigate, who set the terms, which directly will decide on any outcome.

Also, the aim is to: “establish swiftly a general understanding of the nature of the gatherings, including attendance, the setting and the purpose”. General and understanding doing a lot of the work here.

Even worse than that, and showing how independent her inquiry is, already the findings are being leaked, possibly by people mentioned in the report who were given the right to read it first, thus setting the agenda and heading off any stronger wording.

So, there may well be an inquiry report, but what Sue Gray can find and recommend is already fairly narrow, and so there will be little to add other than what we know. But already more leaks are emerging, as news this morning that Johnson dismissed worries about the party on May 15th would be against the rules.

In order to defelct any further blame, Nadine Dorri, the Culture Secretary, launched an attack on the BBC ia the pages of the Daily Hate Mail in which she blamed the leaks and problems for the PM on the BBC and its left-wing bias, and that the latest renewal of its charter will be the last and it is the Government's plan to break it up. That it was the Mirror, Telegraph and iTV who broke the partygate stories matter not a jot in their culture war. Verything can be destroyed to protect "dear leader" Boris.

Elesewhere, a purge of the Cabinet Office is planned, Johnson hoping this will defelct blame from himself, thus showing that he fails to understand the role of the PM, to take blame and responsibility when things go wrong, not just credit when things go well.