Leak inquiries are so rarely successful – I can only stand back and admire Mark Spencer’s audacity

A top quality sting identified which of the letters warning against leaks had found itself in the public domain, writes John Rentoul

Mark Spencer, the Conservative chief whip, pulled off a magnificent sting this week (BBC)

David Cameron used to tell a good story against himself. The cabinet secretary, the late Sir Jeremy Heywood, was a little concerned about a leak of sensitive information about national security. “A little concerned” is mandarin-speak for “an absolute disaster that could lead to World War Three”, so Sir Jeremy recommended to the prime minister that he authorise a full-dress leak inquiry, as there were only a small number of people who had access to the information. 

As Sir Jeremy explained the story a light of recognition crossed Cameron’s face. “Ah,” he said. “That might have been me. You see, I was sitting next to someone at dinner and…”

Leak inquiries are rarely so successful. It would seem that Boris Johnson might have suspected Dominic Cummings and Lee Cain, his departing advisers, of leaking news of his decision at the end of October to order a second lockdown, but the inquiry into the source of the story, which included advisers having to hand over their phones, has not yet come to a conclusion.