The drama surrounding the purge of Bo Xilai, including the attempted defection of Chongqing’s police chief and the alleged murder of a British businessman, sounds like a far-fetched plot from a spy thriller. That would make it Tinker, Tailor, Bo Xilai. The Communist party, however, is determined to read the vastly damaging episode not as sordid intrigue but as morality play, perhaps Bo’s Seven Deadly Sins.

In proclaiming Mr Bo’s suspension from the Politburo and the arrest of his wife on suspicion of murder, an editorial in the People’s Daily, the Communist party mouthpiece, said: “China is a socialist country ruled by law, and the sanctity and authority of law shall not be trampled.” It went on: “Whoever has violated party discipline or broken the law will be dealt with severely and will not be tolerated, no matter .?.?.?how high his position is.”

The message sounded blunt. No one stands above the law. But what precisely is the law in a one-party state without properly independent courts? And how can the Communist party talk blithely of uniform laws for all when it is well known there is one set of rules for party members and another set for everyone else?