Westminster and the wider public are baffled. Despite the arrest in London yesterday of three people - later released on bail - in connection with the mugging of the former Welsh Secretary, Mr Ron Davies, which led to his surprise resignation from the Cabinet, his reluctance to speak further about the incident has meant speculation remains high about exactly what constituted his "serious lapse of judgment".
The Ron Davies affair or, as No 10 has decided to call it, the "bizarre incident", has left MPs, the media and crucially the Labour Party in Wales in a spin as Mr Davies's position as de facto First Secretary of Wales seems in doubt.
With the police investigation into the robbery continuing, and the discovery of his car in Brixton, south London, Mr Davies and his wife, Christina, and their daughter, Angharad, went away for "a couple of days" to consider his future as leader of the Welsh Labour Party.
However, Mr Davies's explanation of the incident on Clapham Common on Monday night was clearly not full enough for Downing Street, even though Mr Blair agreed with Mr Davies that his lack of judgment warranted his resignation.
The official spokesman for the Prime Minister, Mr Blair, echoed the sentiments of many when he conceded there were elements of Mr Davies's story that had not been fully explained.
The government had no more "salient facts" than had already been released, and though Mr Davies had given a "full enough" explanation of the incident, the spokesman told journalists. "You think there are elements to the story that have not fully been explained. Maybe we feel a little bit like this as well."
Mr Blair had asked during his 45-minute meeting with Mr Davies on Tuesday "all the questions an intelligent person would want to put", and there was "no evidence at all of any gay link or any drugs link".
Mr Davies had told Mr Blair he was simply overworked and tired and "wanted some space."
"There's no explanation beyond that," the spokesman said. "We asked ourselves the question why. But what we don't do, because we don't have to, is scrabble around coming to all sorts of theories about what happened." The Cabinet Office Minister, Dr Jack Cunningham, described Mr Davies's resignation as a personal tragedy. He had done excellent work for the government and the people of Wales, but it was for the MP and the police to decide when and if it was appropriate to divulge more details.
With the Westminster rumour-mill in full swing, the government appeared to be holding back in its endorsement of Mr Davies's election as the First Secretary of Wales when the elections to the Welsh Assembly are held next year. The line yesterday was, "It's a matter for the Welsh Labour Party".
Mr Davies won the backing of the Labour Party in Wales earlier this year, beating off his rival, the Welsh MP, Mr Rhodri Morgan, and he is expected to use a meeting of his constituency party in Caerphilly on Friday to make a statement about his future in the party in Wales.
It is understood Mr Davies would like to continue as leader of the Labour Party in Wales, and his colleagues there have been rallying around the MP, despite the Conservative leader, Mr William Hague, insisting that the affair had not been dealt with at all well.
Colleagues in Wales lined up to support Mr Davies, citing his commitment to the people of Wales and the Welsh Assembly as reason for his continued presence in Welsh politics.
However, the Welsh daily newspaper, the Western Mail, was not so sure. In its leader, the newspaper said: "By resigning, Mr Davies has admitted that he does not deserve to remain in the British Cabinet. Why, then, is he entitled to lead Wales in the Assembly? If he now tries to brazen this affair out, he will be sending the unmistakable message that he is not suitable for the rest of the UK but good enough for Wales."
