Dominic Cummings, former adviser to the British prime minister, Boris Johnson, has ensured that the head of government lied to Parliament about Downing Street parties during the pandemic and allowed at least one of them despite warnings that it was against the rules.
Cummings was the conservative Johnson’s right-hand man until he fell from grace and was fired in November 2020. He was the first to uncover a celebration in the garden of the prime minister’s official residence in May of that year, when restrictions in place at the time did not allow social gatherings.
Last week, after the details of that meeting were aired, in which some 40 people shared drinksJohnson apologized in the House of Commons, saying he thought it was a “work event.”
However, Cummings, who in May 2020 was the prime minister’s chief adviser, recounts today on his personal blog that he and at least one other team member warned the head of government that the meeting “with drinks” convened that day it was “against the rules” and “wasn’t supposed to happen.”
The former adviser indicates that one of the warnings was made in writing and was recorded in an email. “We were ignored”, says Cummings, who believes that Downing Street staff who attended the meeting should not be punished, given that the invitation came from the Prime Minister’s private secretary, Martin Reynolds.
The media have aired in recent weeks more than a dozen alleged celebrations against the restrictions due to the pandemic both in Downing Street and in other departments of the British Government.
Johnson’s support in the polls has plummeted due to those controversial parties and at least six Conservative Party MPs have called for his dismissal.
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
