Covid, WhatsApps and Boris: our accident-prone PM can’t catch a break

Rishi Sunak’s authority is tested at every turn by the sins of his predecessors, says John Rentoul

Nothing that the prime minister tries is working (Times Media Ltd)

The prime minister must feel again that the universe is against him. He never thought the government had much chance of winning the court case about Boris Johnson’s WhatsApp messages, but he is beginning to look accident-prone.

Last week the government lost in the Appeal Court over its plan to remove asylum seekers to Rwanda; today it lost in the High Court in the tussle with Baroness Hallett, chair of the Covid-19 inquiry, about who gets to decide what documents she sees.

As an anonymous cabinet minister said to The Sunday Times at the weekend: “In his mind, the deal he struck with the universe is not working out.” He thought he had rescued the party and the government from the disaster of the Liz Truss experiment, but he has been buffeted by an ungrateful party and bad luck.