On those questions, he provided little more than equivocation. Most notably, he again refused to say whether - or how - he would take Britain out of the EU by 31 October. Even if Johnson manages to evade questioning on his private life all the way to Downing Street (with the support of Tory members), he won’t be able to avoid the political questions he fudged today upon his arrival. Neither his parliamentary party nor grassroots will let him. So while there was little in his appearance to suggest looming disaster for the leadership bid, there was plenty of reason to believe there will be no honeymoon once the premiership begins. Dale even went as far to dub Johnson the future Lady Jane Grey of Downing Street, after the Tudor queen who reigned for nine days. There is as yet no evidence to suggest he can avoid that fate.