Frequent observers of Boris Johnson’s government will, perhaps, be well accustomed to the occasional U-turn: free school meals, Covid passports, exam algorithms, mandatory jabs – to name a handful.

       But even by existing standards, the prime minister’s rapid backtracking last night on plans to drop legislation to ban the discredited practice of “conversion therapy” was quite remarkable.

       Since entering No 10, Mr Johnson has repeatedly vowed to introduce legislation to eradicate the “abhorrent” practice, which seeks to suppress or change an individual’s sexuality or gender identity. “It has no place in a civilised society, it has no place in this country,” he proclaimed in 2020, before including a proposed ban in the Queen’s speech the following year.