Boris Johnson's saboteur is back, and looking strangely familiar | Marina Hyde

The prime minister's remarks about Scottish devolution are those of a man who is his own disloyal backbencher

I see Boris Johnson continues to be a thorn in the prime minister's side. It has been his political role for more than a decade, so maybe we shouldn't be surprised at Johnson's continued failure to act in the government's interest. Sabotage is his middle name. Sorry - de Sabotage.

The departure of the spudhead spads last Friday was supposed to reset the current government. Unfortunately, however, the problem of Boris Johnson remains. Or to put it another way: despite the expulsion of Dominic Cummings and Lee Cain, the call is still coming from inside the house. The past couple of days have been an object lesson in how difficult it is for a government to get things back on an even keel when you have a character like Boris Johnson saying cosmically inept things in public. I mean, are needless firefights cheaper by the dozen? We have to ask after Boris Johnson told a Zoom call of 67 northern MPs on Monday that devolution has been a disaster north of the border" and was Tony Blair's biggest mistake" (inaccurate, but we move on).