What we should have learnt by now is that it's foolish to believe anything Boris says. Anyone who could lie to the Queen, for example, should be regarded with the utmost suspicion.
The investigation into breaking the law needs to be conducted by an entirely independent body that can't possibly be accused of favouring the government or its ministers.
The choice of Cabinet Secretary as impartial investgator and the timing of last night's TV message (which avoids immediate questions and debate/scrutiny by Parliament) are bound to arouse suspicion in any fair-minded observer.
It doesn't help Boris that he has a history of mixed messaging. His meaning is often unclear and open to interpretation. His choice of vocabulary and phraseology lack cogency, as his old schoolmaster observed. He is not as bright as he thinks he is but trusts that he can blunder through with a few 3-word slogans in place of well-considered, judicious plans.
The public and those who lost loved ones while ministers partied and joked, flouting their own rules, deserve to know that the investigation will be honest and open.
The evidence in all the newspapers and on video is damning. Opinion polls back up the fact that the PM has now lost the confidence of much of the nation.