The great mystery of how Liz Truss was elected still remains

We lost. You know those defiant statements on the courtroom steps when the underdog emerges and announces that their victory is a win for the public too? This isn't one of them.

- James Harding

For the past three years Tortoise, now the owners of The Observer, have been trying to find out how Liz Truss was elected to be prime minister - who were the Conservative party members who voted for her, how that election was run and what was done to ensure it was safe.

The Conservatives had given us the brush-off. They said they were a private members’ club, so it was none of our business. Anyway, they added, the prime minister was not chosen by the party, but the Queen.