What are the latest allegations of Dominic Cummings spat with Boris Johnson?
Dominic Cummings has fired his final shots in the ongoing war of words with his longtime ally, Boris Johnson, exposing the Prime Ministers apparent frustration with Matt Hancock. The former chief assistant to the Prime Minister posted WhatsApp messages allegedly showing Mr Johnson describing the Health Secretary as hopeless at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. But the claims in the extraordinary blog post totaling around 7,200 words dont end there. Here is a review of the main claims:  I dont think so, is how Matt Hancock responded to the claim that he is hopeless (PA / House of Commons)   Mr Johnson needed an expletive to express his frustration with the Health Secretary  In the most eye-catching exchange, the Brexit campaign mastermind that was at the heart of Covids response until it left No.10 in November noted the rapid increase in US testing capacity. . He criticized Mr Hancock, or MH as he called him in the post of March 3 of last year, for apparently saying he was skeptical of reaching a new British target. after having stated earlier that it would certainly be achieved. The Prime Minister apparently replied: Totally f ****** desperate.   After the message, a reporter asked Mr Hancock if he was truly desperate as he was driven in a ministerial car. I dont think so, replied the health secretary from the window.  PM also believed Mr Hancock was running out of ventilators  The screenshot shared by Mr Cummings offers limited context, but after a so-called I dont know from the Prime Minister, the former aide said they totally screwed the fans. He said he heard officials admit they were refusing equipment because of the price hike. Its Hancock. He has been hopeless, replied the contact appearing to be Mr Johnson on March 27 last year. One of the WhatsApp exchanges (Dominic Cummings / PA)   Protective gear was a disaster and PM wanted Michael Goves help  In an exchange on April 27 last year, Mr Johnson appeared to call the situation around personal protective equipment (PPE) a disaster.  He then alluded to the transfer of some responsibilities to Cabinet Minister Michael Gove. I cant think of anything other than removing Hancock and putting Gove on, Mr Johnson apparently said. But Mr Cummings described the Cabinet Office as a total shit show and said the move would present a serious risk of making things worse rather than better. OK. Wtf are we doing? The Prime Minister would have replied, before proposing another meeting to address the issue. Dominic Cummings before the select committee where he first publicly attacked the Secretary of Health (PA / House of Commons)   In search of money and fun, Mr Johnson has an exit plan  Mr Cummings said the PM would step down about two years after the next general election if he was successful. He said the public inquiry into the management of the response to Covid-19 would not solve the governments problems because it is designed to weed out sensitive parties until that prime minister is gone.  And, said Mr Cummings, unlike other prime ministers, this one has a clear plan to leave no later than a few years after the next election, he wants to make money and have fun without continuing over and over again . So either we live with chronic dysfunction for another (about) five years or a force kicks in.  But it was one of the few accusations that Downing Street specifically rejected. The Prime Minister has in fact already been questioned and said himself that it was total nonsense, so it still stands, said the Prime Ministers press secretary. As you know, the Prime Minister was elected in 2019 and continues to focus on delivering the manifesto we were elected to be and getting the county out of the pandemic.  Boris Johnson reportedly raised his thumb and turned away from criticism (Leon Neal / PA)   Mr Johnsons thumbs up and continues the diversion  One of the politicians still in favor of Mr Cummings is Foreign Minister Dominic Raab, who replaced the Prime Minister as he battled Covid in hospital. Mr Cummings called the meetings chaired by Mr Raab in the Prime Ministers absence less pleasant for everyone but much more productive. Because the foreign minister, he said, can chair meetings properly instead of telling rambling stories and jokes.  And unlike the prime minister who as soon as things get a little embarrassing all of a sudden does lets take it offline before yelling forward to victory, giving a thumbs-up and pulling it out the play before anyone can disagree . Matt Hancock tries to rewrite history. Again, he says there was no shortage of PPE. Here is the truth. pic.twitter.com/WDrwPhhuPs  Dr Rosena Allin-Khan (@DrRosena) June 10, 2021   NHS staff may have died due to lack of PPE  During the defense of his case before the same select committee where his close enemy tried to smear his name, Mr. Hancock defended his case in terms of securing supplies of PPE. The health secretary said he had seen no evidence to suggest that a doctor had died due to a lack of PPE, a claim that has fueled the anger of his critics. Mr Cummings also weighed in on this, saying Mr Hancock had sought to blame NHS England chief executive Sir Simon Stevens, Chancellor Rishi Sunak and the Cabinet Office for a PPE disaster in April last year . The lack of PPE killed NHS and nursing home staff in March-May, Cummings added. Downing Street has been repeatedly questioned during a briefing in Westminster with reporters about the veracity of WhatsApps and whether or not they are genuine. But the prime ministers official spokesperson chose not to challenge their legitimacy. Our aim is not to examine these specific images but to respond to the priorities of the public, he said, avoiding the question. I dont intend to go into the details of what has been published.  With # 10 not disputing the screenshots, the posts are highly unlikely to be some kind of elaborate fabrication. So far, Mr Hancocks only response to the inflammatory post is the I dont think so he gave when asked if he was desperate. But he has already given a more detailed and specific denial to Mr Cummings previous barrage in an appearance on the Joint Health and Social Care Committee and the Science and Technology Committee. And a source close to the Secretary of Health went further, saying: No evidence has been provided today to support previous unsubstantiated suggestions. He will continue to work closely with the Prime Minister to deploy the vaccine and get us out of this pandemic as quickly as possible.   His predecessor as Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the latest revelations do not prove Mr Hancock lied and only demonstrate the Prime Ministers utter frustration. The Tory MP who co-chairs the joint committees investigation into pandemic management said it is not possible to stack the most sensational revelations without evidence.  What matters most to Mr Hancocks position in government is that the Prime Minister supports him for the time being. The prime ministers official spokesperson declined to directly deny the accusations of desperation, saying instead: I do not intend to respond to all the allegations made, the prime minister has worked closely with the Prime Minister. Secretary of Health and (Social) Care and continues to do so. But he was firm when asked if Mr Johnson still had full confidence in Mr Hancock, responding emphatically yes when asked at a briefing in Westminster. 42 / N  10 decided to lie: Collective immunity has never been part of our strategy against coronaviruses. V stupid and dreadful ethics, to lie about it. The right line was what PM knows to be true: our original plan was wrong and we changed when we realized  Dominic Cummings (@ Dominic2306) May 22, 2021   But there is more to come  Warnings from No.10 not to disclose confidential information as defined in the Special Advisers Code which Mr Cummings is always urged to abide by will certainly be ignored. Mr. Cummings has an ax to grind and hes not going to let go after spending months tweaking it. There is so much more to say, but its long enough for now he wrote towards the end of his sprawling blog post. I rejected all media offers of large payments for documents, etc. and, as with this evidence, all other evidence on Covid will be made available to the public free of charge. 