The Tory party can't just wash out its stains after Boris Johnson

In most successful revolutions, there comes a moment when the dictator is ushered out of office by a powerful figure within their inner circle.

- Nesrine Malik

During the Arab spring, the formula became familiar: a military commander would claim they could no longer stand by as a despotic president brutalised protesters. They would speak up, jettisoning their career for the sake of the nation, and would give a pious address about their love of country. Yet as the bitter aftermath of the Arab spring demonstrates, the person who deposes the dictator often helped to create them. They are not a saviour. In fact, they may be the next dictator.

The Tory party is now home to an entire cast of these protagonists, who all claim they did the right thing for the sake of the nation. Over the next few weeks, Tory ministers will do and say anything they can to launder their reputations and heap responsibility for the catastrophic failure of this government on the head of Boris Johnson alone. Their resignation letters and tweets have all followed the same treacly template.

"I can no longer, in good conscience, continue serving," wrote Sajid Javid, despite doing so through several scandals. Meanwhile Rishi Sunak believes the standards of "proper", "competent" and "serious" government must be upheld, as if he had not previously realised that Johnson was none of those things.