Pressure continues to grow on Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s chief adviser, Dominic Cummings, to resign following revelations he had broken lockdown rules.
The most senior Conservative MP to call for Cummings’ resignation is Steve Baker, a prominent member of the 1922 Committee (which represents backbench Tories), who insists Cummings “should go”.
Speaking to Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday Program, Baker, who is the MP for the Wycombe (Buckinghamshire) constituency, launched a strong attack on Cummings by claiming that he was always “opposed” to him being in Number 10 Downing Street.
“He [Cummings] creates an awful lot of collateral damage … things just get rather ugly around the edges”, Baker proclaimed.
Another leading Tory to break ranks is the veteran MP for North Thanet (Kent), Roger Gale.
Gale, who has been the MP for North Thanet since the constituency was created in 1983, told the BBC: “There cannot be one law for the Prime Minister’s staff and another for everyone else”.
Echoing that sentiment, Tory MP Caroline Nokes (who runs the Romsey and Southampton North constituency) tweeted: “There cannot be one rule for most of us and wriggle room for others”.While as a father and as a grandfather I fully appreciate Mr Cummings’ desire to protect his child.
There cannot be one law for the Prime Minister’s staff and another for everyone else.
He has sent out completely the wrong message and his position is no longer tenable.
— Sir Roger Gale MP (@SirRogerGale)
Most surprising of all, Tory MP Robert Halfon, who only yesterday had tweeted in support of Cummings, has now dramatically changed his mind by calling for Cummings to be sacked.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 9 weeks.
— Caroline Nokes MP (@carolinenokes)
Halfon, who is political director of Conservative Friends of Israel, now claims that Cummings should “face the consequences of breaking the law”.
Beyond the world of Tory MPs, even hardcore conservatives in the British media are calling for Cummings to step aside, or failing that to be sacked by the PM Prominent conservative broadcaster and newspaper columnist, Julia Hartley-Brewer, who previously was regarded as one of Cummings’ strongest supporters in the media, tweeted that it is now too late for an apology and that the PM’s chief strategist “has to go”.
I will forever be grateful to Dom Cummings for delivering Brexit.
I also back his mission to reform Whitehall & our failing institutions.
I want him to continue that work.
But.No one is above the law.
Especially during a pandemic.
It’s too late for an apology now.
He has to go.
— Julia Hartley-Brewer (@JuliaHB1)