Politics is a cynical business. Especially when you're Boris Johnson.

Lord Christopher Geidt issued a terse statement last Wednesday night saying: “With regret, I feel that it is right that I am resigning from my post as Independent Adviser on Ministers’ Interests.”

It was very clear and very succinct from somebody that usually puts this page to shame with his verbosity. 

[His paragraphs are longer, for a start] 

The following day, after some minor filibustering by the government, the full resignation letter was released. 

Paul Brand @PaulBrandITV

🔥 Lord Geidt’s resignation letter expressed fury over partygate, but it’s another unspecified potential breach of code that pushed him. “The idea that any PM might to any degree be in the business of deliberately breaching his own code is an affront…I can have no part in this”

Boris Johnson followed it up with a response here: 

As it turns out, the disagreement Geidt had with the Prime Minister that forced his resignation having been left in an "odious position" was on the matter of steel subsidies and thus, Brexit-related, as trade policy expert Dmitry Grozoubinski explains:

Dmitry Grozoubinski @DmitryOpines

1/ Ok, so since everyone is asking here is what the @TradeRemediesUK Authority Boris Johnson mentioned in his letter does. Note: We don't know explicitly what Johnson thinks Geidt's problem was yet, so this is more of a general information thread.

The matter is also covered here very succinctly by another trade policy expert Sam Lowe, on what Lord Geidt actually [and by actually, I mean “apparently”] resigned over. 

Sam Lowe @SamuelMarcLowe

I was specifically going out of my way to ignore everything to do with this, but oh no I can’t have nice things.

Pippa Crerar @PippaCrerar

NEW: Lord Geidt says Boris Johnson put him in an “impossible and odious” position which forced him to quit as PM’s ethics advisor. Exchange of letters below 👇🏼 https://t.co/zrnsvPOABb

So - it wasn't the smoking gun that many had hoped for in relation to 'Partygate'. 

Or wait - was it?