Boris Johnson’s casual attitude towards the law won’t fly this week

Editorial: The question at hand is no longer if there were illegal gatherings, but whether the various accounts he gave to parliament were misleading – and intentionally so

(Dave Brown)

Scenting blood in the water, the opposition parties are making a show, at least, of trying to topple the prime minister. The SNP leader in Westminster, Ian Blackford, for example, is calling for parliament to be recalled by the speaker of the Commons so that Boris Johnson can tender his resignation.

Technically, Mr Blackford is wrong on both counts; it’s the prime minister who initiates the process to recall parliament, and he can tender his resignation to the Queen whether parliament is sitting or not.

Still, Mr Blackford has a point. The prime minister certainly does need to account for himself, and when parliament meets next week he will have an opportunity to do so. If he performs as badly and complacently as he has sometimes in the past, he will not enhance his chances of survival.