In 1986 a young, comprehensive-educated and Labour-supporting undergraduate called Simon Stevens helped Boris Johnson up the first rung of the political ladder.
In an unlikely alliance, Tony Blair’s future health adviser helped to get the future Tory prime minister elected president of the Oxford Union — a well-worn stepping stone for those seeking high political office in Westminster.
Thirty-five years on, it would not be much of an exaggeration to say that Sir Simon Stevens is the most pivotal figure in government on whom the rehabilitation of Mr Johnson’s handling of the Covid-19 crisis rests.
As head of the NHS he is overseeing the most ambitious programme of mass vaccination ever attempted by the health service. Get it right and Mr Johnson will justifiably be