Dominic Cummings, former chief adviser to Boris Johnson, is set to drop yet more bombshell revelations about the British government and the prime minister. In a post on Twitter Cummings promised to answer "anything" social media users ask him about the British authorities.
Experiment: ask me anything, 1400-1600 Monday UK time I'll try to answer... https://t.co/4PQ2g18yvM
— Dominic Cummings (@Dominic2306) June 18, 2021
It appears the British public is not interested in Cummings spilling the beans on cabinet ministers as most of the questions they sent were sarcastic.
Would you rather have a hand made out of ham, or an armpit that dispenses sun cream?
— Philip Proudfoot 🟨🟥 (@PhilipProudfoot) June 18, 2021
In a fight between a grizzly bear and a polar bear, who would win and why?
— Madeline Grant 🇭🇰 (@Madz_Grant) June 18, 2021
Although some users did ask serious questions
To what extent is the media controlled by the government?
— Jaggers (@Jaggers49075588) June 19, 2021
'Hopeless' Hancock and 'Clueless' Johnson
The development comes several days after the political strategist, who worked under Boris Johnson for more than a year, described the PM as a "gaffe machine", who is "clueless about policy and government".
But perhaps the most severe attack was Cummings' 7,000-word tirade he posted on his blog, in which he corroborated allegations that have been made against the government – that it failed to give a due response during the first wave of the coronavirus.
The ex-adviser included screenshots of messages he exchanged with the prime minister. In one of them, Cummings complains that the Health Department had been turning down ventilators because "the price has been marked up".
In another message, Cummings draws attention to the lack of personal protective equipment for medical workers as well as the slow testing programme.
"US has gone from 2,200 tests a fortnight ago to 27,000 a week ago to 100,000 yesterday. This is what we said we should do", reads the message.
Responding to Cummings' messages Boris Johnson put the blame on Health Secretary Matt Hancock, whom he described as "totally f**king hopeless".
"I can't think of anything except taking Hancock off and putting Gove on", reads the message sent by the PM.
Downing Street did not deny the authenticity of the messages, but stressed that Johnson has full confidence in his health secretary. The prime minister himself lauded Hancock, calling attention to the rapid vaccine rollout. Four out of five adults have had their first inoculation against coronavirus "under the leadership of Matt Hancock", Johnson said.
Dominic Cummings' revelations are yet another blow to the government of Boris Johnson, which in recent months has been dogged by accusations of conflict of interest, abuse of power, and mishandling the response to the coronavirus pandemic. On Sunday, Former Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow defected from the ruling Conservative Party to Labour, saying the government needs to be replaced and slamming Boris Johnson as "a lousy governor".
