Boris Johnson is facing a major revolt from within his own party as backbench Tory MPs line up to condemn the prime minister for failing to fire Dominic Cummings over his 260-mile journey from London to Durham.
The backlash continues to rage – not only over Mr Cummings’ trip during lockdown – but over Mr Johnson’s claim his chief adviser acted “responsibly”. More than a dozen Conservative MPs have now expressed their outrage and called for the strategist to be sacked.
1. Sir Roger Gale MP
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“I’m very disappointed, I think it was an opportunity to put this to bed and I fear that now the story is simply going to run and run … There cannot be one law for the prime minister’s staff and another for everyone else.”
2. Simon Hoare MP
“The PM’s performance posed more questions than it answered. Any residual hope that this might die away in the next 24 hours is lost.”
3. Steve Baker MP
“Enough is enough. I and others saved him once before when he was driving Vote Leave to implosion. Not today. Dominic Cummings must go before he does any more harm to the UK, the government, the prime minister, our institutions or the Conservative party.”
4. Peter Bone MP
“When an adviser becomes the story, the adviser has to go. Boris Johnson can carry on without Dominic Cummings if he goes but it will be hard if he stays.”
5. Tim Loughton MP
“What I wanted to hear was a proper justification of why what Dominic Cummings did was fine. I fear I didn’t get that and what’s more worrying is my constituents didn’t get that.”
6. Caroline Nokes MP
“I made my views clear to my whip yesterday. There cannot be one rule for most of us and wriggle room for others. My inbox is rammed with very angry constituents and I do not blame them. They have made difficult sacrifices over the course of the last nine weeks.”
7. David Warburton MP
“[Dominic Cummings] is damaging the government and the country that he’s supposed to be serving … People have made sacrifices, this is a difficult time, this is a time of national crisis. In those sacrifices there really hasn’t been the choice to use instinct. Instinct hasn’t really been part of it.”
8. Damian Collins MP
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“Dominic Cummings has a track record of believing that the rules don’t apply to him and treating the scrutiny that should come to anyone in a position of authority with contempt. The government would be better without him.”
9. Paul Maynard MP
“It is a classic case of ‘do as I say, not as I do’ – and it is not as if he was unfamiliar with guidance he himself helped draw up. It seems to me to be utterly indefensible and his position wholly untenable.”
10. George Freeman MP
“Today we needed: some humility; a clear acknowledgement that people would be rightly angry if they sensed double standards; a sincere thank you to the millions of people (including fathers) who have made sacrifices Dominic Cummings didn’t; and a public apology from him.”
11. Julian Sturdy MP
“I don’t think this can go on much longer. It is damaging the government’s reputation. You can’t have one rule for government advisers and one for everyone else. His future does seem to look more and more untenable moving forward.”
12. Jason McCartney MP
“We must have confidence that we are doing the right things for the right reasons and that we are all truly in it together. For that reason I believe Mr Cummings’ position is now untenable … perceived hypocrisy of the rule makers potentially threatens the success of any future measures.”
13. Robert Syms MP
“The government has to explain test, track and trace and the next phase of lifting lockdown next week. Whatever the merits of a government adviser, they should never be the story or it detracts from the central message which is to get us out of this crisis. The adviser should go.”
14. James Gray MP
“Unless and until he can justify what he did, he should face the consequences of it and give up his role as a government adviser. Having him continuing at the heart of government undermines our credibility and the strength of our message.”
15. Craig Whittaker MP
“I totally agree that Dominic Cummings position is untenable. I’m sure he took the decision in the best interests of his family but like every decision we take we also have to take responsibility for those decisions. You cannot advise the nation one thing then do the opposite.”
16. Andrew Jones MP
The Harrogate Advertiser has reported that Mr Jones has written to his constituents: “It seems clear to me that Mr Cummings has broken the guidelines which we were and are all expected to follow. For that reason I think that he should resign and if he does not do so then he should be dismissed.”
17. Martin Vickers MP
“I’m afraid it does undermine the key government message … I think out of loyalty to the prime minister [Dominic Cummings] should have said, ‘Look I’m in a vulnerable position because the press are out to get me and this is bound to leak out and it will undermine the government’s position’.”
18. Peter Aldous MP
“My initial view was to be sympathetic to Dominic Cummings due to his expressed desire to protect his young son. I have now revised this opinion … The government should recognise what families have gone through and what people are thinking and saying. It is thus important that Dominic Cummings should now stand down.”
19. John Stevenson MP
“Carlisle and the country have sacrificed a lot over the last few weeks. People in positions of power have added responsibility – Mr Cummings holds such a position. Therefore in my view in the interests of the country Mr Cummings should resign.”
