An awkward hole in the prime minister's team had been created after the departure in November 2020 of Alex Allen, who quit as the adviser on ministerial interests after No 10 brushed aside his report accusing the home secretary, Priti Patel, of bullying.
As the wait for a replacement dragged on, stories swirled about a scandal that became known as "cash for curtains"; evidence dripped out about Johnson using a Tory donor to help cover the costs of an apparent £200,000 makeover of his Downing Street flat.
Whoever would inherit Allen's role knew the issue would be top of their in-tray, and an immediate test of their temerity. Waiting in the wings was Christopher Geidt, a former private secretary to the Queen. Coaxing him to accept the job took weeks, insiders said, with the cabinet secretary, Simon Case, having to be roped in to persuade a man with a seemingly unblemished record of public service to put his reputation on the line.
Little was known about Lord Geidt - who, in one of the only public recordings of him, described himself as "what is known as 'one of those men in suits". But he was quickly thrust into the public eye with the weighty task of adjudicating on whether the prime minister had lied about his knowledge of the flat decoration payments.
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