By Ben Kerrigan-
Dominic Cummings has attacked Boris Johnson on the eve of the former no 10 adviser’s evidence session, accusing the prime minister of having no “serious plan” to protect society’s most vulnerable people from Covid-19.
Cummings added to a 63-tweet thread on Twitter, as he accused the government of failing those in care homes and other social care, and vulnerable people asked to shield.
Cummings fell out with the prime minister and left Downing Street in November 2020, alongside the prime minister’s then director of communications, Lee Cain. The fall out was intense, leaving hard feelings that would seek to return with a vengeance.
“One of the worst failings in Feb/March, less discussed than lockdown, was the almost total absence of a serious plan for shielding/social care,” he claimed. “As in general, there was widespread delusion we HAD a great plan. It turned out to barely exist.”
Cummings is expected to allege that, when Johnson rejected the argument for a September lockdown, he claimed “Covid is only killing 80-year-olds”. The former aide will also be questioned on allegations – denied by No 10 – that Johnson said he would rather “let the bodies pile high in their thousands” than impose another lockdown. Downing Street has denied both allegations.
The Committees plan to cover “the government’s preparedness; decision-making in the early months of the pandemic; the level of scientific evidence available to the government; its border policy; and the effectiveness of its public health messaging and communications”.
Cummings has previously dubbed the government’s border policy a “joke” and described the Department of Health as a “smoking ruin”.
The prime minister’s former adviser also claims the original plan was to rely on building up herd immunity, as more people caught the disease, until modelling showed that would involve an unmanageable death toll and put impossible pressure on the NHS. Downing Street denies this.
Cummings was regarded as Boris Johnson’s ideas man in Downing street, but his own reputation took a knock when he broke lockdown rules by travelling miles away from his residence to meet with family members.