THURSDAY 5 MARCH 2020The longer Johnson keeps Patel
on, the more trouble he is
storing up for himself
The PM backs his minister... for now (PA)
SEAN O’GRADY
It may or may not have been Alastair Campbell who invented what came to be known as “Campbell’s Rule”,
but it has come to be received wisdom in journalistic circles. It commonly states (there are variations) that if
a media frenzy is still raging after a period of 10 days then the political personality at the centre of it is
“toast”. If so, then the home secretary, Priti Patel, still in post after a fortnight of hostile coverage, “should”
survive, except that, such is the rich back catalogue of allegations being made against her – all of which she
denies – the Campbell calendar keeps getting reset in an almost perpetual fashion.
Patel’s troubles began on 20 February. It was then reported that she had attempted to have the permanent
secretary at the Home Office, her most senior civil servant, Sir Philip Rutnam, moved to another job. It was