'Brutal' Dominic Cummings Has 'Nasty Streak', Says Senior Tory MP
Downing Street adviser Dominic Cummings has a “nasty streak” and a “somewhat brutal way”, a senior Tory MP has warned.
Huw Merriman also said he was “torn” about Boris Johnson’s closest aide, saying Cummings could also be a “breath of fresh air” for Whitehall.
In an interview with The House magazine, the chairman of the Commons’ transport committee said Cummings, who led the Vote Leave campaign for Brexit, was able to “challenge the status quo”, but that way he operated was “divisive”.
It comes as Johnson aims to capitalise on the 80-seat majority he won in December’s general election with sweeping changes in Whitehall and public institutions.
Cummings, who is central to the Number 10 operation, has faced criticism for hiring Andrew Sabisky, who was later forced to resign after it emerged he had previously suggested black people had lower IQs than white people, and that women’s sports were more comparable to the Paralympics than the Olympics.
He has also sparked controversy over his approach to handling the media, with some journalists excluded from important briefings with civil servants.
Merriman said: “I feel quite torn about my views on Dominic Cummings, because on the one hand, I like people that have original thought and ideas. They challenge the status quo.”
He said Whitehall could be “more responsive” to the public’s needs, and added: “And so actually, I think he’s a breath of fresh air as far as that’s concerned.”
Johnson’s administration has launched a consultation on decriminalising, and therefore essentially making voluntary, the BBC licence fee. Cummings and Johnson are thought to be split on the idea of scrapping the levy altogether.
Merriman, who is chairman of the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on the BBC, said he was worried about the way No.10 had briefed journalists about the public service broadcaster.
He picked out reports which suggested it would be “forcibly slimmed down”,...
