The political and legal fallout from Donald Trump’s fateful decision to fire James Comey as director of the FBI hangs heavy over the White House.

For almost a year, critics have used it as some kind of pseudo-evidence that the president has something to hide about his dealings with Russia. And it has prompted investigators to add obstruction of justice to the list of allegations they are pursuing.

The hysteria is increasing as we approach Tuesday’s publication of Mr Comey’s memoir, A High Loyalty.

Yet as details from its text begin to emerge, it is becoming increasingly evident that the president was right to fire his FBI chief. It seems as if Mr Comey was eminently unsuitable for the job.

Such a senior law enforcement role requires teamwork, sound judgement and above all discretion. It is a role in which intimate conversations with the president and senior legal officers amount to state secrets.