Dominic Cummings’ select committee LIVE: Boris Johnson’s former adviser appears before MPs | Cummings says people died unnecessarily because of Government failings | Grant Shapps accuses Cummings appearance as 'sideshow' | One year on from Barnard Castle press conference
The Prime Minister’s former chief advisor has been vocal in his condemnation of Boris Johnson Health Secretary Matt Hancock, and others since leaving Government after a behind-the-scenes power struggle in November.
You can follow all the updates here as Cummings gives evidence to a joint inquiry of the Commons Health and Social Care and Science and Technology Committees.
Dominic Cummings’ select committee RECAP: Boris Johnson’s former adviser appears before MPs
Key Events
- Dominic Cummings claims Boris Johnson suggested getting injected with coronavirus ‘live on TV’
- Cummings says Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, should have been fired for “lying”.
- Cummings claims PM described Covid as “new swine flu”
- “We fell disastrously short of standards,” says Cummings
Cummings: Treasury funding scheme ‘put together chaotically’
Dominic Cummings defended the Treasury over differing levels of financial support given to local authority areas during the tiering system of lockdowns.
He said the system was “put together chaotically” and said: “In a nutshell, I would say that the Treasury did its best in a very, very difficult situation.
“But the Treasury had to deal with the fact that No 10’s policy was constantly shifting on the tiering, and where the boundaries were, and Prime Minister’s conversations with specific people.
“So the whole thing was just sort of so fast-moving and chaotic, that there was never any time.”
He added: “There was definitely a lot of crazy randomness in terms of how money was apportioned and decisions that didn’t really make sense.”
Cummings claims PM was distracted by personal life
Mr Cummings told MPs that Boris Johnson had various distractions in February 2020 in his personal life.
He said: “He was finalising his divorce, his girlfriend wanted to announce being pregnant, an engagement… certainly he had a very difficult time mid-February in his private life for sure.”
Cummings: UK Govt must ‘face reality’ and hold Covid inquiry sooner
Dominic Cummings has criticised the “idea of trying to punt… off” the coronavirus inquiry until after the next general election.
The former chief aide to the Prime Minister told the Commons committee: “I think it’s genuinely terrible the idea of trying to punt this all off until after the next election.
“When you have a crisis this bad you’ve got to face reality.”
Cummings: Sunak did not threaten to quit over lockdown
The Prime Minister’s former chief adviser Dominic Cummings said that Chancellor Rishi Sunak had never tried to block a national lockdown.
Giving evidence to the Commons Health and Social Care and Science and Technology Committees he added: “There have been stories that he was a kind of block and tried to throw mud in the gears and him and the Treasury were trying to stop the first lockdown.
“What I would say was there were powerful voices in the Treasury saying the real danger is economic but in meetings that I had the Chancellor never tried to stop that happening.”
When asked if reports in September that a new lockdown was delayed over fears Mr Sunak would quit were false Mr Cummings added: “Completely, 100 per cent. The Chancellor never threatened to quit.”
Cummings on his resignation
Dominic CummingsI was extremely tempted to go in the summer, but various people said to me ‘the autumn is going to be a disaster, he’s in complete let-it-rip mode, just open everything up, keep the beaches open, you’ve got to stay and try and control the shopping trolley. Otherwise, we’re all… God knows what’s going to happen’.
Cummings: ‘The less everyone hears from me in the future, the better’
Dominic Cummings denied he was angling for a role in a possible future Rishi Sunak administration.
The former chief aide to the Prime Minister told the Commons committee: “I think everyone from my wife to everybody in Westminster and Whitehall will agree that the less everyone hears from me in the future, the better.”
Asked whether he thought he had done his job in a “fit and proper way” Dominic Cummings said: “I think there’s no doubt whatsoever that there’s many thousands of people in this country who could have done my job much better than me. That’s unarguable.”
Cummings: ‘Fatal’ questions over who was in charge
The Prime Minister’s former chief adviser Dominic Cummings said that questions over whether ministers or officials are in charge of things were “fatal” during a crisis like the pandemic.
Giving evidence to the Commons Health and Social Care and Science and Technology Committees he said: “There’s an obvious question about responsibility, a really fundamental question about how the British state works, about power between ministers and officials, and who is actually in charge of things, and who can actually form teams.
“In the normal Government business the assumption is we can all live with a bit of friction to have these kinds of division of responsibilities and muddle along, but it’s completely fatal when you’re dealing with a really serious thing.
“When you are dealing with a really serious thing like this you need to get a great team who know exactly what the goal is and exactly who is responsible for what.”
‘Serious questions’ for Matt Hancock to answer
As Mr Cummings’ session ended, shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth tweeted: “A shocking testimony from Cummings. Matt Hancock faces grave charges which on the face of it seem well founded.
“We heard how the country was let down at the cost of needless deaths & that SoS misled the nation. Serious allegations. We need answers in the Commons tomorrow.”
Comment Guidelines
National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.