Dominic Cummings has resurfaced with new claims which could turn the Partygate saga on its head – but it’s important to remember how he caused nationwide outrage himself back in 2020 with a trip to Barnard Castle.
Why is he in the news?
Cummings took aim at Johnson once more on Monday and claimed the PM lied to Parliament last week when he alleged he “implicitly” thought the May 20, 2020 drinks party in No.10 was a “work event”.
Cummings said the PM “waved aside” his own warnings about hosting such a party during the first lockdown. He also alleged that “other eyewitnesses who discussed this at the time would swear under oath this is what happened”.
He also vowed to “swear under oath” that Johnson lied to the Commons.
Depending on who is telling the truth, Cummings or Johnson, the PM’s job could be on the line again.
So who is Cummings?
He first become a public figure when he was revealed as one of the masterminds behind the Vote Leave campaign in the run-up to the EU referendum of 2016.
As the prime minister’s most-senior aide, the Downing Street’s chief of staff (up until his resignation in November 2020) Cummings was said to be a figure of immense influence behind the doors of No.10.
Since leaving politics, he has repeatedly spoken out against former ally Boris Johnson and his handling on the pandemic, even claiming “tens of thousands” of people died unnecessarily because of the way it was addressed.
He also claimed Johnson said, “let the bodies pile high,” when choosing between a third lockdown amid a Covid wave and rebooting the economy, to the PM’s denial.
Has Cummings ever broken the rules?
This has been a source of contention for almost two years, and makes his position as the person who could expose the PM’s alleged rule-breaking even more curious.
An article published by The Mirror and The Guardian on May 22, 2020, claimed Cummings broke the rules by driving to Durham two months before, at the start of the lockdown when the nation was instructed to stay at home.
While there were certain caveats to this rule, Cummings was accused of breaching lockdown – despite working in the government himself.
On May 25, he made a statement from Downing Street’s garden where he said he travelled 264 miles to Durham from London so that his relatives might be able to look after his four-year-old son, as he and his wife thought they were coming down with Covid.
Cummings claimed the extensive journey was necessary for childcare – meaning it was technically within the rules.
While staying in Durham, he and his wife tested positive. On April 12 – his wife’s birthday – he drove to Barnard Castle, 30 miles away, to test if his eyesight was well enough to drive his family back to London. They returned on April 13.
When it was all revealed in May, the SNP and the Lib Dems called for Cummings’ resignation but Boris Johnson defended Cummings.
The day before Cummings’ press conference, the PM claimed his then-advisor had acted “responsibility, legally and with integrity”, while Durham Police claimed they did not consider Cummings’ act as an offence.
Yet, a YouGov poll conducted after Cummings’ dramatic press conference found 71% of the public believed he breached Covid rules, while 59% thought he should resign.
His act was said to have completely undermined public health messaging at a crucial time – but, the PM stood by him.
As Times Radio’s Matt Chorley tweeted on Monday: “I’m all for holding the PM to account. I just think you should look at yourself if your new BFF is the guy with the trestle table in the No.10 garden talking about his eyesight.
“If only he’d had some sort of power to do something about what happened in No.10.”
Why do some people doubt Cummings’ credibility?
Cummings has repeatedly claimed that Johnson is “unfit for the job” of PM since he stepped back from the government.
He is, according to some reports, plotting “revenge” on the PM and does not plan to stop until Johnson leaves No.10 – despite being one of the key figures credited with Johnson’s rise to the top.
Sources told The Times that Cummings wants to “destroy” Johnson: “He’s going going to try and napalm him.”
Another said: “He’s not going to stop. He’s not going to get bored. I don’t think he’s stop until Boris is no longer prime minister.”
According to these reports, Cummings thinks Johnson is a “clown” who did not learn from the first lockdown, even when all the Covid data was available.
The Sun’s Harry Cole also tweeted: “Will anyone go on record to back up Cummings version of events?
“He said they would re ‘bodies’. No one did.
“Same re plotting to oust PM day after 2019 election. Still waiting.
“Also said he had evidence Hancock lied but was never handed to Parliament.
“But this is diff league.”
