In those early days of the pandemic, he could do no wrong. The Chancellor was widely applauded for responding quickly and decisively to shore up the economy when it first erupted, pledging to do “whatever it takes”.

But the halo has been gradually slipping as the Government seemingly shrugs its shoulders at the mushrooming cost of living crisis, while simultaneously imposing tax rises that will make it worse for millions of households.

Lord Agnew’s complaints of inaction on fraud also add to the impression of a Cabinet that has presided over a spectacular mountain of waste, treating taxpayers “like an ATM machine”, as public accounts committee chair Meg Hillier put it last year.

Hillier was responding to a report from the Westminster spending watchdog that an “unimaginable” £23bn had been blown on Dido Harding’s track and trace system with no evidence of any measurable difference on the progress of the pandemic. It has since emerged that nearly £9bn has been frittered on useless personal protective equipment.

This is not the image of fiscal prudence that Sunak is desperate to project every time he refuses a fresh bailout for the hardest hit corners of the economy, or specific companies that have run into trouble.

The opposition, already firmly in attack mode over partygate, has spotted an opportunity to further tarnish the credentials of a leading contender, if not THE leading contender, in any future battle for the keys to No 10. 

Are we really expected to believe that the hapless Liz Truss is a serious candidate to lead this country? Perhaps it would be foolish to rule anyone out after the spectacle of recent weeks.

The Treasury select committee has also waded into the fraud debate with chairman Mel Stride seeming to contradict the Chancellor’s claims that it was tackling the problem. According to Stride, it is “undoubtedly getting worse”. 

Meanwhile bank bosses are refusing to accept any suggestion that they should carry some of the blame for a programme that was foisted upon them by a panic-stricken government.

Sunak is entitled to feel aggrieved but only up to a point. As Charles Roxburgh, permanent secretary at HM Treasury, reminded the Public Accounts committee last month, the Bounce Back Loan Scheme was hurriedly drawn up during the first lockdown.

Earlier versions of the scheme were criticised for being too slow and there was pressure to get cash to struggling companies, including from Labour, as Sunak pointed out in the same Twitter thread. There is also scepticism about whether the eventual losses will be anything like as bad as has been predicted.

Yet, Roxburgh also admitted that ministers were warned about the risks from the start so the Chancellor should have been more upfront about them at the time. Sunak undoubtedly owes much of his popularity to a willingness to spray the cash around during lockdown. That was the right thing to do but he is now discovering some of the downsides. The Treasury’s failure to properly articulate them has left the Chancellor facing his biggest reputational threat yet.

Sunak was right to do so but he is now discovering some of the downsides. The fact that he didn’t articulate them is part of the reason why he is potentially facing his biggest reputational hit yet.