UNITED KINGDOM
There is mounting anger in Westminster over the conduct of UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson’s Senior Adviser, Dominic Cummings (pictured), with one MP calling him “an unelected foul-mouthed oaf”.
A potentially divisive figure, Mr Cummings was initially at the centre of a row within Government when he sacked Sonia Khan, an Adviser to Chancellor, Sajid Javid, without Mr Javid’s knowledge and then asked an armed police officer to march her out of his Downing Street office.
Now senior MPs have demanded to know why Mr Cummings was granted a security pass to enter Parliament even though he had been found in contempt of Parliament.
Mr Cummings was sanctioned in March this year for failing to appear before the Parliamentary Committee on Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, which was inquiring into fake news.
Chair of the Committee, Damian Collins said Mr Cummings had shown a “total disregard” for the authority of Parliament.
Mr Cummings was seen in Parliament several times in the days leading up to its proroguing — at one point confronting Leader of the Opposition, Jeremy Corbyn over whether he would support a General Election to break the deadlock over the UK’s exit from the European Union (Brexit).
A Labour Member of the Home Affairs Select Committee, Steve Doughty said he had written to Cabinet Secretary, Sir Mark Sedwill to ask about the level of security vetting Mr Cummings had received.
“Serious questions must be answered as to how an individual found in contempt of Parliament, and over whom other allegations hang unanswered and unresolved, can be wandering around the Parliamentary estate at will,” Mr Doughty said.
Senior Conservative MP, Roger Gale went further, dismissing Mr Cummings as “an unelected foul-mouthed oaf” for his role in Mr Johnson’s deeply contentious decision to suspend Parliament for five weeks.
London, 10 September 2019
