The saga around Dominic Cummings has suggested that the prime minister is indecisive

But the prime minister is exposed by the saga with his chief advisor and another official, Lee Cain (who has also left his post as communications director).

It has been clear since Mr Cummings drove to Durham in late March, despite having symptoms of coronavirus, that he was unpopular. This was evident in the fact that even Brexiteer Tory MPs wanted him to quit, despite the fact that Mr Cummings was one of the architects of the successful Leave campaign. He was a notoriously brusque figure.

Yet in a sense the problem is not Mr Cummings. He was a man of high intelligence, and was what is known as a disrupter. Government and the governing bureaucracies in the UK need some disruption. The problem is more Mr Johnson.

He elevated Mr Cummings to a position of unusual, and even inappropriate, influence. There are multiple accounts of him sitting in on, and even dominating, important meetings between the prime minister and other influential figures, ranging from civil servants to donors to ministers.

Mr Johnson emerges from these reports as an indecisive and perhaps weak leader. It is well documented that he had lifelong focus on reaching Downing Street. Having achieved that goal, he seems unsure what to do with the premiership.

This is a very bad time for uncertainty.

The Brexit negotiations for a new EU relationship are in their last days, if no deal is to be averted. A coherent strategy is still needed with regard to tackling Covid-19. And the Union itself is straining, with separatists in Scotland and Northern Ireland watching for signs of vulnerability from London.

In the Province, unionists badly need help from a firm leader, on matters from legacy to the Irish Sea border.

It is to be hoped that Mr Johnson gets a grip and is able to build a competent, but also politically strong and ideologically unapologetic, team around him.

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