Tory MPs tell Johnson to muzzle his attack dog Cummings

Boris Johnson has been told by Tory backbenchers to rein in his right-hand man, Dominic Cummings.

Boris Johnson with Dominic Cummings, who was described as an ‘unelected foul-mouthed oaf throwing his weight around’. Picture: AFP

Boris Johnson insisted his chief strategist was not him in a “latex mask” amid concerns among Tory MPs about the influence wielded in No 10 by Dominic Cummings.

The former campaign director of Vote Leave has been credited with being the architect of the Prime Minister’s decision to remove the whip from Tory rebels this week.

It is only the latest accusation of heavy-handed tactics hurled at him.

The Prime Minister was told on Thursday to rein in his right-hand man, according to MPs present at a meeting of the 1922 Committee of Tort backbenchers. Mr Cummings was accused of viewing parliamentarians as a problem rather than part of the solution in delivering Brexit. His name was also repeatedly invoked in the Commons, as MPs painted a picture of him as the puppet master inside No 10.

Margot James, a former ­minister and one of the 21 parliamen­tarians who lost the whip on Wednesday, recalled a remark made by Margaret Thatcher and said: “The Great Lady … once said ‘Advisers advise, ministers decide’.

“Can I ask the Prime Minister to bear that statement closely in mind in relation to his own chief adviser, Dominic Cummings.”

Her remark won applause, which is banned in the chamber under parliamentary rules.

A student of military history and an admirer of the ancient Chinese general Sun Tzu, Mr Cummings is thought to take inspiration from war theory for his unorthodox approach to political strategy. A more down-to-earth appraisal of his approach was given by Tory MPs yesterday. Roger Gale called for him to be “frog-marched” out of Downing Street and told the BBC that Mr Cummings was “an unelected foul-mouthed oaf throwing his weight around” in a “completely unacceptable” manner.

Opposition Treasury spokesman John McDonnell also drew attention to Mr Cummings’s reported role in the sacking of a Treasury aide last week after accusing her of having contact with ex-chancellor Philip Hammond, her former boss. “The member of staff that was escorted off the premises by an armed police officer, can I just say this — this is no way to treat a member of staff,” the shadow chancellor said.

According to reports, Mr Cummings had Sonia Khan escorted from the building by the police after discovering records of a WhatsApp call from Poppy Trowbridge, Mr Hammond’s former spokeswoman, on her private mobile phone. The incident has raised questions over due process.

There is said to be a split in Downing Street, with Mr Cummings and his former Vote Leave colleagues on one side and on the other a City Hall faction led by Ed Lister, the chief of staff who worked with Mr Johnson when he was London mayor.

One Tory MP told The Times: “The Vote Leave operation in Downing Street is way too aggressive. Whereas Ed Lister and his team are less brash and more professional, business-like. They’re also experienced in more than politics — business, culture, the arts. That was one of Boris’s strengths in City Hall — he kept a very diverse group around him.”

Friends of Mr Cummings said he was sanguine about the media attention, believing stories about him have little impact outside Westminster. He was not shy about courting attention on Wednesday as he toured the parliamentary press gallery with a glass of wine in hand. Elsewhere he bumped into Jeremy Corbyn and according to a witness quoted in the Evening Standard, told him: “Come on Jeremy, let’s do this election, don’t be scared.”

Hours before the crucial vote, he is said to have asked Greg Clark, the rebel Tory MP: “When are you f..king MPs going to realise, we are leaving on October 31?”

The Times