The much-delayed and truncated report into alleged breaches of lockdown regulations by staff in No 10 Downing Street confirmed a good deal that was already known while leaving many questions unanswered.

It had been anticipated that Sue Gray, a senior civil servant, would provide a definitive account of what went on. Instead, she published a set of interim findings presented as an “update” rather than a conclusion, taking the wind out of the sails of Opposition MPs, who had somewhat optimistically held out the hope that it would force the Prime Minister from office.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer called the Prime Minister “a man with no shame” but his fate will be decided not by the Opposition but by Tory MPs who just a week ago look poised to move against him. In the Commons, the reaction of Tories was largely muted, though several party grandees, including former prime minister Theresa May and ex-cabinet minister Andrew Mitchell, indicated they were not convinced by his explanations. There is also a head of steam building on the backbenches for the full Gray report to be published once the police have concluded their inquiries. A spokesperson last night said that the Prime Minister will do so. If this commitment were to be broken it would surely become another danger point for his premiership.

Ms Gray said she was “unable at present to provide a meaningful report” but the conclusions she did reach were damning enough. Too little thought was given inside No 10 to the appropriateness of holding boozy evenings during the lockdown that the rest of the country was observing, yet staff members who felt uncomfortable felt unable to raise objections. Some of the behaviour was “difficult to justify”, though she does not say which, and there were “failures of leadership and judgment”, though she does not say by whom.

However, having entreated people to await Ms Gray’s report before passing judgment, Mr Johnson is now inviting everyone to hold off again while the Met looks into 12 potentially unlawful assemblies. They include one held in his own flat on November 13 2020 in the middle of a national lockdown when indoor get-togethers were forbidden.

While he is not out of the woods yet, the Prime Minister’s moment of greatest peril was in the Commons yesterday and he may well be through the worst. The delays necessitated by the police inquiry provide the breathing space in which to reinforce his position, with a battery of policy announcements expected in the next few days. He is also planning a visit to Ukraine to pledge UK support against the threatened Russian invasion.

None the less, Mr Johnson would be prudent to recognise the harm caused to his premiership and, potentially, the standing of the Conservatives in the country. The fundamental issue is not who ate a piece of cake on what day or brought alcohol for Friday night get-togethers in lockdown.

Of themselves such matters are trivial. What rankles most with people is the sense that they were required to make great sacrifices in their lives, for instance not being able to see dying relatives, while those who made the rules were not observing them.

The essential context to this farrago is to understand why it is so corrosive of public trust in government. Those supporters of Mr Johnson who maintain that most people broke the rules so it doesn’t matter, or the alleged transgressions are so trifling that the response is disproportionate, are wilfully missing the point. They do the Prime Minister no favours by perpetuating this narrative.

He said he was sorry, though he did not sound especially contrite as he went on the attack, brandishing a list of government successes ranging from rolling out the vaccine faster than any European country to delivering Brexit and propping up the economy during the pandemic. He said lessons had been learnt and there would now be a shake-up in Downing Street, establishing an office of the Prime Minister with its own permanent secretary, a reform that past occupants of No 10 have considered but never realised.

This bruising and unedifying episode has called into question the integrity of the Prime Minister. He lives to fight another day but needs to show he understands why it has been so damaging.