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Greg Evans
Jun 17, 2021
On Wednesday, Boris Johnson’s former adviser Dominic Cummings released screenshots of WhatsApp conversations that he had with the prime minister where he described Matt Hancock as “f**king hopeless.”
In a series of posts that Cummings shared on Twitter and his blog, he and Johnson purportedly had several discussions about what they could do to stop the spread of coronavirus in the UK with Cummings being particularly critical of Hancock, a sentiment apparently echoed by Johnson.
92/ Hancock claimed to MPs a/ 'no PPE shortage', b/ 'everybody got treatment they needed'; c/ he was a heroic succe… https://t.co/9CDTQvlJM6— Dominic Cummings (@Dominic Cummings) 1623862425
The seriousness of the claims from Cummings could have serious ramifications in the government - but people couldn’t help but over analyse the messages between the pair.
Although Cummings, perhaps unsurprisingly, seems prone to sending essay-length messages, Johnson, in comparison, texts like a teenager and not a head of state.
Needless to say, people were more interested in talking about the PM’s texting habits than the actual content of the messages.
Boris Johnson texting "wtf do we do?" "Ok brill" has spun me completely 😭😭😭 https://t.co/1kDYp9hKku— lamb (@lamb) 1623879706
why do I find the thought of Boris Johnson texting "Wtf" and "brill" so upsetting? https://t.co/20uZ6UHzLk— Ifan Llewelyn (@Ifan Llewelyn) 1623888010
this is exactly how I text https://t.co/DLrA43neQT https://t.co/7mdxOTAgV8— conner (@conner) 1623869330
“Ok brill am all ears !” https://t.co/fai1gGPmxO https://t.co/pNo0zFM7J2— Big Disinfectant (@Big Disinfectant) 1623850483
This is a fucking parody come to life. https://t.co/KSBfnskI45— My name’s Joel, actually (@My name’s Joel, actually) 1623849764
🤦♂️ It's not a long shot to suggest that "Wtf do we do ?" is a likely response from Boris Johnson to most of the d… https://t.co/QJOhrMgYYr— Ross Colquhoun (@Ross Colquhoun) 1623843209
Boris texting like it’s the night before his GCSE chemistry exam and he hasn’t revised https://t.co/No2gZm8Tfb— Jason Okundaye (@Jason Okundaye) 1623841735
Cummings’ inability to take a screenshot on his phone also rankled a few people.
I am once again asking Dominic Cummings to learn how to screenshot https://t.co/y2Jay2WCzI— Eve Livingston (@Eve Livingston) 1623842467
Please can someone teach Cummings how to screenshot????— Áine O'Brien (@Áine O'Brien) 1623841301
So, Dom Cummings thinks a screenshot is an actual photograph of the computer screen. This is so on-brand.— Dan Kaszeta (@Dan Kaszeta) 1623853509
Johnson’s three missed calls also tickled a few people.
Imagine having the confidence to just miss three calls in a row from the Prime Minister. https://t.co/XqTKE5sJ6T— Chris Curtis (@Chris Curtis) 1623841839
Not the most important point, but there's some strong "Cameron texting Sunak" energy to three missed calls at half… https://t.co/cR7fci9Ix1— Tim Durrant (@Tim Durrant) 1623840987
Tabloid Daily Star possibly won the contest for the best headline in relation to this story.
Daily Star currently the only paper in the UK with the correct political insight. https://t.co/qcRffzScGk— Jack Duncan 🔻🏳️🌈 (@Jack Duncan 🔻🏳️🌈) 1623922651
On a slightly more serious note, Hancock responded to the claims that he is “hopeless” with serious conviction by saying: “I don’t think so.”