Trust has been lost, it will not be won back - Scotsman comment

Whatever the Sue Gray report says this week and however much of it we get to see, one thing is clear – public trust in the Prime Minister has been irrecoverably lost.

After the shambles of last week and the still baffling intervention of the Metropolitan Police on Friday, which seemingly delayed Gray even longer, faith in the process managed to fall further.

But we already know enough to draw our own conclusions.

Redacted or published in full, smoking gun or not, the opposition’s position is that the Prime Minister should go, a view shared by the Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross – and by The Scotsman.

Whether he will very much depends on the reaction of backbench Tory MPs once Gray is finally published.

But trust in those working in Number 10 will not be repaired until he does.

Yesterday, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey also accused the Met of “undermining public trust” following last week’s chaos.

After news of Scotland Yard asking for “minimal reference” to be made by Ms Gray to events under criminal investigation, Sir Ed tweeted of a “stitch-up between the Met leadership and Number 10” which would “damage our politics for generations”.

Yesterday he added: “I always wanted the Met to investigate but what I didn’t want, what I don’t think anybody wanted, was to make such a hash of it – changing their position so many times, which, of course, makes people concerned.”

This whole affair has been so shambolic, no-one would bet against more twists to come in the coming days.

And each revelation only serves to further erode that vital public trust in our institutions.

This at the same time when there is a cost of living crisis, an NHS in crisis and the beginnings of a recovery from the pandemic, an imminent tax hike, and growing tension over the situation in Ukraine.

Put bluntly, this is all coming at a time when having trust in those leading the country, whether you agree with them or not, could not be more important.

The next week is critical, and not just for the Prime Minister.