Johnson has never enjoyed his weekly round of the Commons tea rooms to shore up support after PMQs - a world king should not have to court his subjects.
So the fact he was there yesterday shows that No10 had finally and belatedly seen the black clouds looming.
Clearly it was too late, and last night the storm broke over the Prime Minister's head, plunging his premiership into its greatest jeopardy yet.
But the sky had begun darkening last week, when he flew back from an eight-day foreign jaunt on Thursday evening to be confronted with news of Chris Pincher's shame and his resignation as Deputy Chief Whip.
Last night allegations that Pincher had groped two men in the Carlton Club and Downing Street's handling of the scandal looked set to seal the PM's fate.
The phone call that set the whole train of events in motion arrived moments after Mr Johnson's plane touched down at Stansted airport following his dizzying diplomatic tour taking in Rwanda, Germany and Spain.
While "A*** Pincher" voluntarily quit the whips office, Johnson baulked at kicking him out of the party and potentially triggering yet another by-election.
On Friday there unfolded a shameful session of the daily lobby questions with the PM's spokesman - in this case, the deputy official spokesman. A hapless civil servant, either poorly briefed or directly lied to by his seniors, told journalists that the Prime Minister was "not aware of any specific allegations" against Pincher when he appointed him
This story is from the July 06, 2022 edition of Daily Record.
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This story is from the July 06, 2022 edition of Daily Record.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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