'Greased piglet PM could once again come out of the Partygate scandal on top'

Sue Gray’s report is expected to drop next week – but it might not be enough to topple Boris Johnson. The PM may survive this serious mistake, but there will be another along in a moment

Boris Johnson was dubbed a “greased piglet” by David Cameron because of his ability to slip through the fingers of disaster.

And despite all the porkies that the PM has told, it looks like he’s going to slide out of trouble again.

Unless Sue Gray’s report tells us something devastating we do not already know, Tory MPs are unlikely to force Mr Johnson out.

Yet that will not be the end of it.

The police will face questions over why they only issued Boris Johnson with two Covid questionnaires when he attended six parties.

They will be asked why so many junior staffers got fines for parties they were ordered to, while the PM received only one.

The whole unsavoury affair may have left the piglet still greased, but the shine has gone off him.

Mr Johnson may lose Wakefield to Labour, and Honiton and Tiverton to the Lib Dems in forthcoming by-elections.

The people most angry about Partygate are traditional Conservative supporters.

They are telling Tory MPs on their doorsteps that they will never vote Conservative again while Mr Johnson remains leader.

That means Tory MPs in Lib Dem-facing seats will lose them. And the cost-of-living crisis will see the Red Wall crumble.

MPs held their noses and backed Mr Johnson because he was a vote winner.

They will ditch him when he becomes a loser.

Partygate may not bring the PM down. But Mr Johnson never learns.

He may survive this serious mistake, but there will be another along in a moment.

Breach of trust

Today we report on claims that Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust is responsible for more than 1,000 avoidable deaths.

That is a monstrous figure and becomes no less so when it’s broken down.

We reveal that 2,536 mental patients died between 2017 and 2021, there were 481 unexpected deaths between 2012 and 2019 – and so the horror goes on.

And behind those statistics are individuals who had more life to live and bereaved families robbed of loved ones.

Campaigners want the Trust dissolved and replaced.

It is now for Health Secretary Sajid Javid to decide if that is the only course of action left.

Robot wars

A survey shows that a third of men would like a robot as a companion – someone to fetch, carry, clean and bring them a beer.

Women are not so keen on befriending lumps of wire and metal. And the reason, say researchers, is that robots are mostly designed by men so the ideas aren’t always inclusive.

Encouraging more women to go into ­engineering and technology would give the industry a reboot…