Dominic Cummings evidence: learning lessons or political vendetta?
Former No. 10 aide’s appearance in front of MPs tipped to be ‘one of the most remarkable moments in modern political history’
Dominic Cummings has fired off a volley of scathing tweets ahead of his long-awaited appearance in front of MPs this week to give evidence on the government’s handling of coronavirus.
In what The Guardian describes as a “curtain-raiser” to the public grilling on Wednesday, Boris Johnson’s former right-hand man has spent the past week posting a thread of messages in which he dismisses as “bullshit” claims by ministers that herd immunity was not considered by Downing Street last year.
The ousted adviser points to government graphs from the start of the pandemic showing projections for a single prolonged but flattened wave of infections and deaths, with herd immunity described as “the optimal single-peak strategy”. He also suggests that if “competent” people had been in charge, the UK would “probably” have avoided the first national lockdown.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Cummings, “a figure who fascinates Westminster, has already hinted at damaging revelations” to come when he sits before the joint inquiry into lessons that can be learned from the UK’s handling of the Covid pandemic, says the BBC��s Mark D’Arcy.
Allies say that Cummings “wants revenge” and plans to “napalm” the prime minister with his revelations to the Health and Social Care and the Science and Technology committees, The Sunday Times reports. And he is expected to produce papers, text messages, WhatsApp threads and recordings to back up his claims.
As the clock ticks down to his tell-all appearance, speculation is rife about how much Cummings wants to help his country avoid mistakes in the future handling of national crises - and how much he simply wants to settle scores after being booted out of Downing Street last November.
The Sunday newspaper’s Tim Shipman says the ex-aide intends to “spin a wounding narrative” about his former boss’s “mistakes and shortcomings as a leader”.
“The scene that will unfold at 9.30am on Wednesday promises to be one of the most remarkable moments in modern political history, when the two men who have done most to shape British politics over the past five years collide head-on,” Shipman writes.
The Sun is predicting a political bloodbath, publishing a Brighty cartoon portraying Cummings as a Freddy Krueger-like character under the caption “Dommy’s revenge: a nightmare on Downing Street”.
Other commentators are hoping that “Dommy” can step beyond his villain role, however. Jane Merrick at the i news site hopes that the former No. 10 insider will “provide some answers to the questions bereaved families have been asking for more than a year”. If he does so, he “will have done something good”, she adds.
“If Mr Cummings’s contribution is designed to ensure that we are better prepared in future to deal with a pandemic then it is to be welcomed,” agrees The Telegraph.
But “if it is the latest chapter in a lengthy vendetta motivated by personal grievance, it needs to be seen in that context”, the paper concludes.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
The clown car cabinet
Opinion Even 'Little Marco' towers above his fellow nominees
By Mark Gimein Published
-
Ed Park's 6 favorite works about self reflection and human connection
Feature The Pulitzer Prize finalist recommends works by Jason Rekulak, Gillian Linden, and more
By The Week US Published
-
6 fantastic homes in Columbus, Ohio
Feature Featuring a 1915 redbrick Victorian in German Village and a modern farmhouse in Woodland Park
By The Week Staff Published
-
Will Donald Trump wreck the Brexit deal?
Today's Big Question President-elect's victory could help UK's reset with the EU, but a free-trade agreement with the US to dodge his threatened tariffs could hinder it
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
What is the next Tory leader up against?
Today's Big Question Kemi Badenoch or Robert Jenrick will have to unify warring factions and win back disillusioned voters – without alienating the centre ground
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
What is Lammy hoping to achieve in China?
Today's Big Question Foreign secretary heads to Beijing as Labour seeks cooperation on global challenges and courts opportunities for trade and investment
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Bob Woodward's War: the explosive Trump revelations
In the spotlight Nobody can beat Watergate veteran at 'getting the story of the White House from the inside'
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Trump kept up with Putin, sent Covid tests, book says
Speed Read The revelation comes courtesy of a new book by Bob Woodward
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
'The federal government's response to the latest surge has been tepid at best'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Is Britain about to 'boil over'?
Today's Big Question A message shared across far-right groups listed more than 30 potential targets for violence in the UK today
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
UK's Starmer slams 'far-right thuggery' at riots
Speed Read The anti-immigrant violence was spurred by false rumors that the suspect in the Southport knife attack was an immigrant
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published