BoJo is a well-established liar, manipulator, and narcissist, so in his case it's natural to suspect duplicity.

His sister wrote an article where she describes reading both columns at the time and recently rereading them both: https://www.newsbreak.com/the-independent-517119/47045597742...

Her take on his motivations are nuanced and compelling imo:

> It was not so much indecision; it was anxiety about being disloyal to his boss. It was also anxiety about advocating a course of action that could hole the good ship Britannia below the waterline unless some rapid free-trade agreements were struck