Laura Kuenssberg: Inside the high-stakes soap opera that led to political chaos

Elements in the Conservative Party made targets of the civil service, the law, Parliament (where it was actually in charge), and the “elite”, even though that was essentially blaming their reflections in the mirror. Boris Johnson, with the help of Dominic Cummings, picked fights which drove his rivals round the twist, to dramatic effect. Bosses in Whitehall were their targets often – the drive to reform the civil service was not new, and necessary even, according to some insiders – but the brutal tactics they tried to use, blew up.