Dominic Cummings

Boris Johnson created an administration in his own image, and it is doing irreparable damage to our country Shortly before he stepped down after a decade as prime minister, Tony Blair hosted a dinner at Chequers for advisers who had been with him more or less since he became Labour leader. In every one of […]

Department store John Lewis appeared to mock Boris Johnson as he faced a probe into the controversial refurbishment of his Downing Street flat. The lavish update of the Downing Street decor was reportedly inspired by a desire to get rid of the “John Lewis furniture nightmare” left over by Theresa May. As the Electoral Commission […]

Downing Street is said to be alarmed by reports circulating that Dominic Cummings will release explosive WhatsApp messages exposing the chaos during the early days of the fight against Covid-19. Insiders are said to be sifting through the phones in search of information that could cause them trouble. This comes as a bitter spat between Boris […]

Number 10 has refused to deny that Boris Johnson personally briefed editors of pro-Tory newspapers over a number of leaks against him. The Telegraph, Sun, and Times last week all claimed that Dominic Cummings was to blame for “systematic leaking” of the prime minister’s texts with James Dyson and Saudi prince Mohammed Bin Salman. The […]

Boris Johnson did not try to block the investigation into who leaked the decision to impose the second lockdown, the top civil servant has suggested, as he said a culprit is yet to be identified. Simon Case declined to comment on Monday on whether the prime minister’s former chief aide Dominic Cummings had been cleared […]

The UK’s most senior civil servant is expected to indicate he has not cleared Boris Johnson’s former adviser Dominic Cummings over the so-called “chatty rat” leak of plans for a second lockdown. Simon Case, the cabinet secretary, is expected to say his inquiry into the leak last autumn is still “live” when he appears before the […]

Boris Johnson has denied he tried to block an official leak inquiry following a series of incendiary allegations by his former top adviser Dominic Cummings. In a furious outburst, Cummings accused the PM of seeking to halt the investigation into the leak of plans for a second lockdown after he was warned a close friend of […]

Dominic Cummings told Boris Johnson plans to have donors “secretly pay” to revamp his official Downing Street flat were “unethical, foolish” and “possibly illegal”, the ex-Number 10 aide said. The prime minister stopped speaking to his top adviser about the issue last year, Cummings said. He said he had refused to help Johnson organise payments […]

Dominic Cummings has denied being the source of a BBC story on Boris Johnson’s text communications with businessman James Dyson. In a blog post that claims that Johnson and his office has fallen “so far below the standards of competence and integrity the country deserves”, he denied leaking the messages.  The prime minister’s former aide […]

Political journalist Robert Peston has claimed that Boris Johnson is on the path to “mutually assured nuclear destruction” as Dominic Cummings is brought into the lobbying row. Cummings has been accused of being “bitter” over the government’s “great progress” since departing as the prime minister’s senior aide. It has been claimed he leaked text messages between […]

Boris Johnson’s former aide Dominic Cummings has been blamed for the leaking of the prime minister’s text messages. An internal inquiry has been launched into how messages between the prime minister and billionaire Sir James Dyson were leaked to journalists. But reports said Downing Street sources are pointing the finger at Cummings, who quit as […]

TIM WALKER on Dominic Cummings’ prospects on the after-dinner circuit. With apparently little else to do, Dominic Cummings is to try to cash in on his time in government on the after-dinner circuit – and has signed up with an outfit called Chartwell Speakers. One leading booker tells me, however, that his earnings are unlikely to make […]

Dominic Cummings was apparently “scouting out the complex” for the production of the new Novavax vaccine in the UK, Boris Johnson joked with business leaders during a meeting. Johnson decided against a Barnard Castle gag at his press conference on Monday where he announced Britain would produce the Novavax jab in the North East, saving it […]

Boris Johnson’s former chief adviser Dominic Cummings has blamed the EU for the UK’s slow coronavirus response, despite the UK leaving the bloc before the pandemic properly hit. In his first public appearance since leaving No 10 last year amid the fallout from a bitter internal power struggle, Cummings gave the damning assessment of its attempts […]

Dominic Cummings has revealed the four demands he made of Boris Johnson before joining No 10 as the prime minister’s chief adviser. Cummings told a group of MPs in his first public appearance since leaving No 10 that he persuaded the prime minister to sort of the “disaster zone” of Whitehall. Appearing before the Commons […]

Dominic Cummings is to appear before MPs for the first time since he quit as Boris Johnson’s chief aide.     Cummings be questioned by MPs over the government’s new “high-risk” scientific research agency that he championed before his dramatic departure from No 10. In his first public appearance since the dramatic departure late last year, the […]

An MP is cross-referencing constituents’ complaints about Dominic Cummings’ trip to Durham with those who complained about the Clapham Commons vigil. According to Guido Fawkes reporter Tom Harwood, an MP is sifting through his emails from people who complained about both in a bid to “point out the hypocrisy of their positions”. He tweeted: “One MP tells […]

Former Tory leader William Hague has claimed “you can smell” the improvement in the government since the departure of Dominic Cummings and Lee Cain. Hague said Boris Johnson’s former chief adviser and spin doctor, who left Downing Street last year, were “brilliant people” but that “maybe running governments wasn’t their greatest skill”. The Tory peer said […]

Dominic Cummings urged Boris Johnson to scrap the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), an inside source has revealed. Johnson was being told the disband the committee over fears some experts were leaking information to the press in order to pressure the prime minister into pursuing tougher coronavirus restrictions. A source told the Mail that matters […]

Nicola Sturgeon has criticised Downing Street after Dominic Cummings admitted he made a recommendation that led to a friend’s firm receiving government work.  Cummings made the admission after campaigners took legal action against the Cabinet Office over the payment of more than £500,000 to research firm Public First without a formal tendering process. The first minister hit out […]

Labour has written to the cabinet secretary asking him to publish details on meetings with Tory-linked firms that have secured contracts during the pandemic. Shadow Cabinet Office minister Rachel Reeves last week revealed she had written to 10 firms with connections to the Conservative Party awarded contracts during the coronavirus crisis in a bid to […]

A High Court judge is considering whether a government decision to award a market research contract to a company whose bosses were friends of Dominic Cummings was unlawful. Campaigners took legal action against the Cabinet Office over the decision to pay more than £500,000 of taxpayers’ money to research firm Public First, following the start […]

TIM WALKER reports on the latest on a scheme to modernise Downing Street, the long wait for Paul Dacre’s TV show, and those mystery Michael Gove press briefings… Having  blown tens of thousands of pounds on new offices for his former henchman Dominic Cummings, Boris Johnson is now focusing on making Downing Street a sufficiently opulent place for […]

Television and radio presenter Graham Norton has criticised home secretary Priti Patel – claiming “it’s extraordinary she’s in charge of anything”. The chat show host and Eurovision commentator lambasted the Tory minister, along with Boris Johnson, comparing Patel to a lunch monitor. Asked by the Sunday Times to give three words to sum up Boris Johnson, […]

A lawyer who took on Dominic Cummings over his lockdown breach has claimed he has been forced to move home because his campaign for an investigation sparked attacks on his property. Nazir Afzal has revealed after launching his legal campaign to prosecute the former Number 10 adviser he had a brick thrown through the window […]

Dominic Cummings has threatened to expose Remainer civil servants who ‘sabotaged Brexit’ in his latest attack on Whitehall. Boris Johnson’s former senior adviser used Twitter to hint at naming and shaming civil servants he clashed with during his time in government. Cummings left Downing Street in November after falling out with the prime minister. He has used his […]

A former pro-Brexit Conservative aide marched out of Downing Street by armed police after being sacked by Dominic Cummings has said she was “never given a reason” for her dismissal. Sonia Khan, who was fired as a special adviser to then chancellor Sajid Javid in August 2019 over the alleged leaking of secrets surrounding no-deal […]

Dominic Cummings sat on the Cabinet Office salary advisory committee which decided which personnel received the eye-watering pay rises in Downing Street. Government special advisers were paid almost £10 million last year with former chief adviser Cummings paid the equivalent of £140,000-£144,999 – up from £95,000 – £99,999 last year – an increase of 40% on […]

Dominic Cummings has used a column in The Spectator‘s magazine Christmas special to launch a veiled attack on Boris Johnson and his fiancée Carrie Symonds. Cummings used a slot in a publication where his wife works to say politicians had become “more focused on Twitter and gossip-column stories about their dogs”. Johnson’s former top aide is set to […]

Downing Street has defended Dominic Cummings being handed a pay rise of around £45,000 as taking the senior aide to the “correct level of salary” for his role. The prime minister’s press secretary Allegra Stratton said: “This was a matter for the Cabinet Office special adviser pay committee, that’s where the decisions are taken. “It’s […]

The TV broadcasting watchdog is looking into the comments Emily Maitlis made about Dominic Cummings after he broke lockdown earlier this year. The Newsnight coverage centred on the former senior adviser to Boris Johnson’s trip from London to Durham during the first lockdown. The BBC previously ruled that the presenter’s comments about Dominic Cummings, breached impartiality rules.  […]

No 10 has spent £2.7 million of taxpayer’s cash in one year to pay out sacked advisers, a government report has revealed. The sum includes severance pay-outs to advisers who left between April 2019 and March 2020, the Cabinet Office has confirmed. An annual report on Special Advisers shows staff turnover in 2019 was unusually high due to […]