Who is Dominic Cummings? Former chief adviser answers questions from the Covid inquiry

The appearance of Boris Johnson's former top adviser is among the most eagerly awaited, given his closeness to power during the pandemic
Dominic Cummings' trip to Barnard Castle undermined public confidence in coronavirus restrictions
Reuters/Peter Nicholls
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Dominic Cummings is set to answer questions before the Covid-19 inquiry on Tuesday following an explosive morning of revelations about how the government handled the pandemic. 

The former chief adviser to Boris Johnson will give evidence after Lee Cain, another of the former prime minister’s then inner circle. 

Mr Cain was Downing Street director of communications from July 2019 until the end of 2020 and said “indecision” was a theme of Covid that people struggled with inside No 10. He added that the government had “no plan” to deal with the pandemic early on and said Mr Johnson got the assessment of the virus “wrong”. 

Mr Cain texted Mr Cummings that he was “exhausted” with the prime minister on March 19, the eve of lockdown. 

Mr Cummings had asked Mr Cain to "get in here, he's melting down", in apparent reference to Mr Johnson.

"I’ve literally said the same thing 10 f***ing times. He won’t absorb it," Mr Cummings said.

Mr Cummings was tested like never before with the onset of the pandemic, having been previously credited with masterminding the Brexit campaign and the 2019 election. 

He will probably be asked about the government’s preparedness and response as the virus took hold in the early part of 2020. There may also be questions about how he broke lockdown rules in travelling to Durham despite restrictions he helped implement. 

This is the story up to now.

Who is Dominic Cummings?

Mr Cummings rose to notoriety in politics, first as an adviser to Michael Gove and then as campaign director at the official Brexit group Vote Leave.

He was portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch in a Channel 4 drama about the Brexit campaign, which played up his role in covering a red bus with the disputed £350 million a week figure, arguing the cash could be used to fund the NHS. Mr Cummings, a hate figure for many pro-EU politicians, said the £350 million/NHS argument was “necessary to win” the campaign.

Mr Johnson appointed Mr Cummings to his top team as senior adviser at Number 10 when he became prime minister in the summer of 2019.

The appointment of the abrasive former campaign director was controversial, given he was found to be in contempt of Parliament earlier in the year for refusing to give evidence to MPs investigating misinformation.

‘Career psycopath’

Mr Cummings has built a reputation as someone who does not play by the rules of conventional politics.

He was once called a “career psychopath” by former prime minister David Cameron, according to widely reported remarks.

But Mr Cummings is no stranger to an insult either, describing David Davis, then the Brexit secretary, as “thick as mince, lazy as a toad and vain as Narcissus” in July 2017.

The December 2019 election victory gave Mr Johnson the political capital he needed to take bold decisions – and Mr Cummings soon set to work on his goal of reshaping Whitehall, issuing a recruitment call for data scientists, economists and “weirdos and misfits with odd skills” to shake up the Civil Service.

In April, it was revealed Mr Cummings had been present at meetings  co-ordinating the response to the coronavirus pandemic as part of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage).

This raised concerns over a lack of breadth in expertise of the meetings and political interference in science-based advice.

Mr Cummings also drew criticism when he was caught allegedly breaking lockdown rules by visiting his parents’ home in Durham while he was recovering from Covid-19.

The Lancet published a paper by University College London in August looking at the so-called Cummings effect, finding a “clear decrease in confidence starting on 22 May (when the story of his trip to broke) and continuing to fall quickly in the days following”.

Dominic Cummings gave a press conference in the Downing Street Rose Garden to defend his trip to Durham during the lockdown

Steve Baker, a former chairman of the Leave-backing European Research Group, described him as a “dominant figure who regards accountability with contempt”.

Writing for the Critic Magazine, he said: “To work for Dom – to obey – is to be respected, to be part of a brilliant, driven team. Dominic cultivates heartfelt and ferocious loyalty, as Vote Leave’s board found when they rightly tried to sack him for regarding accountability with disdain.

“And that, right there, is why I have always opposed Dominic being in Number 10.”

Why did he resign?

Mr Cummings had told the BBC in January 2020 that he wanted to make himself largely redundant by the end of that year. 

Events did not go to plan but as it happened the special adviser did indeed find himself out of work in that capacity. 

Lee Cain resigns
Director of communications Lee Cain (right) alongside senior aide to the prime minister Dominic Cummings

Lee Cain, his ally, had stood down at No 10 having reported internal tensions within Downing Street in November 2020. Mr Cummings was said to be unhappy with the way his friend had been treated and just days later, it was reported that he too was going to step down. 

He was quoted as saying at the time his position on making himself redundant had not changed although it is thought the government’s treatment of Mr Cain accelerated his move.

Since leaving Downing Street, Mr Cummings has been openly critical of the government’s response to the Covid-19 crisis. He has given testimonies before saying they had “failed,” saying as well that Boris Johnson was not “fit and proper” to lead Britain. 

It is expected that further fiery sound bites could come during his hearings this week.

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