Dominic Cummings Interview: The Key Points

Dominic Cummings makes a number of claims in his first major TV interview with BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg. The former government chief aide talks about his time in Downing Street, including Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the Covid-19 pandemic and Brexit.

1) Boris Johnson opposed a second lockdown

As Covid rates rose last autumn, the government debated whether England needed a second lockdown.

While Labour called for new restrictions by mid October, Mr Cummings claims the prime minister was highly against it. According to him, he received a WhatsApp message from Boris Johnson on 15 October, arguing that the people dying were mostly in their 80s. The message allegedly said, “That is above life expectancy. So get Covid and Live longer”.

Mr Cummings also claimed the PM did not have concerns about the pressures the pandemic was putting on the NHS. His message went on to say, “And I no longer buy all this NHS overwhelmed stuff. Folks, I think we may need to recalibrate”.

However, the government denies placing the public in any unnecessary danger throughout the pandemic. They maintain it has taken the “necessary action to protect lives and livelihoods, guided by the best scientific advice”.

2) The PM wanted to keep seeing the Queen in person

Mr Cummings implies the PM did not take the pandemic seriously enough at the start. He wanted to keep up with his weekly meetings with the Queen face-to-face.

The former aide says he warned the PM on 18 March last year that if the then 93-year-old monarch caught coronavirus she was at risk of dying. He claims the prime minister changed his mind after telling him in-person meetings were “completely insane”.

Meanwhile, Downing Street denies this ever happened.

3) The truth about his County Durham trip

Mr Cummings has faced backlash and criticism himself over questionable actions in the pandemic. During last year’s lockdown he took a road trip with his wife and children, driving hundreds of miles to County Durham. When the journey was exposed, Mr Cummings told media they went to his parents’ farm after his wife became ill.

But now he reveals there were also “security concerns” at the time surrounding his family home in London. This is something that was never mentioned before when questioned about the incident. Looking back, he thinks he could have acted differently. He should have either resigned there and then, saying nothing, or spoken to his family and “come clean about the whole thing”.

4) Doubts about Brexit

During his time at Downing Street, Dominic Cummings was a leader in the Vote Leave campaign in the EU referendum in 2016. He says he “obviously” thought “Brexit was a good thing”. But adds anyone who thinks they are sure of that now, five years later, must “have a screw loose”.

Meanwhile, the prime minister says Brexit allows the UK to “take back control of our laws and our destiny”. It also enables the country to find and agree on trade deals with the wider world.

5) Carrie Symonds’ influence over Downing Street

Dominic Cummings claims in his interview that Boris Johnson’s partner Carrie Symonds tried to influence Downing Street appointments. She apparently wanted to get rid of him and other staff who worked on the Vote Leave campaign.

According to Mr Cummings, Ms Symonds believed the party needed the Vote Leave team before the 2019 general election, to win the vote. But “as soon as the election was won” she changed her view and wanted to be the one pulling the strings. He says they were in a situation where “the prime minister’s girlfriend is trying to get rid of us and appoint complete clowns to certain key jobs”.

A spokesperson from Downing Street says: “Political appointments are entirely made by the prime minister”.

6) Wanting to get rid of Boris Johnson

After winning the 2019 general election, Mr Cummings says, within days he started talking to his allies at Downing Street about ousting Boris. He apparently said at the time: “By the summer either we’ll all have gone from here, or we’ll be in the process of trying to get rid of him and get someone else in as prime minister”.

According to Mr Cummings, Mr Johnson is not the right person to run the country, and is only in the position because they needed “to solve a certain problem”. “He doesn’t have a plan, he doesn’t know how to be prime minister”, he adds.

7) No contact with the PM

At one time Mr Cummings was Boris Johnson’s most senior adviser, but says he hasn’t spoken to the PM since he quit. He was once at the heart of No 10, but says now It does not “bother me one way or the other” whether they speak again.

Since leaving Downing Street, Mr Cummings says his ex-boss tried to get in touch by phone, but he didn’t answer.

8) Cummings doesn’t cry over criticism

Mr Cummings says he is not afraid to upset people to get things done, and they generally thought of him as “a nightmare”. He portrays himself as someone wanting to reform government, but the “establishment” oppose him. Due to the difficulties involved in the job, it was inevitable that he would end up upsetting some people.

However, he takes it on the chin, saying, “A lot of people have a pop at me, but you don’t see me crying about it.”

When asked to back up his version of events, Mr Cummings says a public inquiry into the government’s handling of the Covid crisis will corroborate many of his claims.

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