Conrad Duncan
Mar 17, 2021
Dominic Cummings has made his first public appearance since quitting as Boris Johnson’s chief adviser last year in a committee session with MPs on the new “high-risk” scientific research agency that he championed during his time at Downing Street.
The controversial political strategist appeared before the Commons Science and Technology Committee on Wednesday to discuss the project and his time working with the prime minister.
You can find some of the key moments from the session below:
PM made ‘deal’ with Cummings on No 10 role
Cummings told the Committee that he promised to help Johnson “sort out the huge Brexit nightmare” in a private meeting in the prime minister’s living room in 2019.
He added that he took the job in Downing Street with an assurance that a number of non-negotiable conditions would be met.
“I said ‘Yes, if first of all you are deadly serious about actually getting Brexit done and avoiding a second referendum’,” Cummings said.
“‘Secondly, double the science budget, third create some Arpa-like entity and fourth support me in trying to change how Whitehall works because it’s a disaster zone’ and he [Johnson] said ‘Deal."”
Cummings hits out at Department of Health over vaccine procurement
In what appeared to be an indirect attack on health secretary Matt Hancock, Cummings told MPs that the UK’s Covid-19 vaccination programme had only been successful because it was taken out of the control of the Department of Health and Social Care.
“It is not coincidental that we had to take it out of the Department of Health. We had to have it authorised very directly by the prime minister,” the former chief adviser said.
“In spring 2020 you had a situation where the Department of Health was just a smoking ruin in terms of procurement and PPE and all of that. You had serious problems with the funding bureaucracy for therapeutics.”
Cummings defends pay-rise and claims he took earlier cut
The former chief adviser also defended his 40 per cent pay-rise which was revealed last year – arguing that he actually took a salary cut when he began working at Downing Street.
“The media reports about me getting a pay rise after Covid are wrong,” Cummings told Labour MP Dawn Butler.
He argued that he asked to be paid £100,000 when he first arrived at No 10 (less than the usual £140,000 for his position) but when he was formally rehired on the day after the 2019 general election, his salary reverted to the £140,000 pay grade.
Although, as The Mirror’s Mikey Smith points out, it is weird that the government didn’t give this explanation when the pay increase was revealed to much controversy last year:
Seems weird that everyone thought Dominic Cummings was getting a pay rise except for Dominic Cummings.— Mikey Smith (@Mikey Smith) 1615980841
Some journalists noted that the failures of the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic had not made Cummings more humble about his abilities as a strategist:
Everything that happened in 2020 miraculously appears to have proved that Dominic Cummings was right about everything— John Crace (@John Crace) 1615979558
“2020 was proof that if you don’t have people with scientific backgrounds who are able to think quantitatively and… https://t.co/WLtKPMyF9J— Tom Peck (@Tom Peck) 1615976158
I do think the central point about him is that he doesn't understand what the _purpose_ of bureaucracy is— Chris Cook (@Chris Cook) 1615978588
While others noted that the former adviser left the session on a cliffhanger, telling MPs that he would be happy to answer more questions in the future about stories on him in the media…
Dominic Cummings says he'll be happy to speak to MPs and "clarify" stories in the media about his time in No 10. Someone call Oprah.— Ashley Cowburn (@Ashley Cowburn) 1615979687
Dominic Cummings ends his evidence to the science committee with an offer that may not delight No. 10: to return to… https://t.co/RuJtg1s12y— Katy Balls (@Katy Balls) 1615979980
Meanwhile, some users simply took the session as an opportunity to work on their Photoshop skills after Cummings produced a chart to illustrate one of his points:
@RobDotHutton https://t.co/57XSYFCkE4— Martin Palmer (@Martin Palmer) 1615980990
@PickardJE https://t.co/fR66PcCXFi— Rachael (@Rachael) 1615975928
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