The storm over the use of police officers as backdrop to an attack on the opposition was a fresh reminder this past week of the acute lack of trust between the Conservative Party and the police after a decade of austerity which has fundamentally undermined their ability to prevent and respond to crime.

It’s important to be clear what happened on Thursday. Boris Johnson and his aides deceived the police by knowingly using officers for a naked party political stunt, without their prior knowledge. That is the clear implication of the words of the chief constable of West Yorkshire Police.

In a service sensitive to charges of political partisanship, this was a serious breach of trust which should not be underestimated. The prime minister certainly