Boris Johnson’s new ‘golden rule’: the bunker mentality

Embattled prime minister embraces a desire to keep quiet on matters of electability after being branded delusional for third-term comment

It began last Sunday when Boris Johnson, newly arrived at the G7 summit in southern Germany, told ITV that his golden rule" for politics - one not seemingly aired before - was that politicians should not talk about themselves, just their policies.

The next day, talking to BBC News, the prime minister similarly dismissed all questions about domestic political troubles, including a double byelection loss and new rumblings of discontent among Tory MPs.