DOMINIC Cummings spoke to the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg in an interview where he made some explosive comments about his time in government.
Cummings was the chief adviser to Boris Johnson after he became Prime Minister in 2019 as well as presiding over the Vote Leave campaign during the 2016 EU referendum.
In the hour-long programme shown on BBC 2, Cummings spoke with Kuenssberg about Johnson's resistance to lockdowns in the pandemic, his doubts about Brexit and his own plan to potentially oust the PM soon after he was elected.
READ MORE: Boris Johnson 'wanted to visit Queen in person days before first lockdown'
Many of the revelations have been exposed throughout the hours and days leading up to the interview, but the BBC saved Cummings big plan for the final minutes of the broadcast.
Towards the very end of the interview, Cummings made his views on Johnson clear: "Certainly I think the sooner he goes the better, for sure."
Asked about what he's planning to do about all the issues he outlined in the interview, Cummings said he was "thinking about what could be done" with one possibility being to set up a new party that would "end the existing parties, to kill them off and create something different".
READ MORE: Cummings talked about ousting Johnson as PM within days of 2019 election
Another option was to do " a version of what we did" which would be to "take over an existing party and try and bend it to something that is different".
The interview may not have generated an immediate reaction that Cummings was looking for, with many criticising him as much as he did Johnson.
David Schneider said: "Dominic Cummings must be so angry at the man who, more than anyone else, was responsible for Boris Johnson becoming PM, Dominic Cummings."
Dominic Cummings must be so angry at the man who, more than anyone else, was responsible for Boris Johnson becoming PM, Dominic Cummings.
— David Schneider (@davidschneider) July 20, 2021
Director of the Good Law Project, Jolyon Maugham, was not impressed by Cummings's attempts to deflect blame.
Maugham has been pushing Tory cronyism into the limelight through court challenges of the UK Government over things like Covid contracts for Tory donors.
READ MORE: Boris Johnson ‘no longer bought NHS overwhelmed stuff’, leaked WhatsApps suggest
Sharing a clip of Cummings talking about ousting Johnson, Maugham tweeted: "If Dominic Cummings said his name was Dominic Cummings I'd struggle to believe him. This sounds for all the world like an attempt to deflect the blame for the disastrous Brexit his lies delivered."
If Dominic Cummings said his name was Dominic Cummings I'd struggle to believe him. This sounds for all the world like an attempt to deflect the blame for the disastrous Brexit his lies delivered. pic.twitter.com/dTv1ProZpN
— Jo Maugham (@JolyonMaugham) July 20, 2021
Cummings hypocrisy was also brought into focus, with Sam Bright tweeting: "This is the basic contradiction and hypocrisy of Dominic Cummings – he accuses the PM of joking about Covid but also laughs away Kuenssberg's accusations that he spread mass Brexit lies."
Cummings's reactions to questions from Kuenssberg about the "£350 million for the NHS" slogan on the Vote Leave the bus and other points were met with smirks from the former Downing Street adviser.
Just got home from work to find Dominic Cummings spilling the beans to Laura Kuenssberg.
— Reece Dinsdale 💙 (@reece_dinsdale) July 20, 2021
Of all the underhand and despicable things he is discussing, nothing is quite as vile as him smirking as he says them.
Absolute snake. pic.twitter.com/VvI5Y1qlbl
Before the interview was broadcast, SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford renewed a call for an immediate public inquiry into the UK Government's handling of the pandemic
Blackford said that the revelations from Cummings were "extraordinary" while signalling caution around the "agenda that Cummings has" with the accusations.
Calling out Johnson's judgement throughout the pandemic, he said that the Tories are trying to "put off" the inquiry until the next election but said Johnson and his party "can't be allowed to kick this into the long grass", adding that there are "extremely serious questions to answer".
The full interview with Blackford on BBC News can be watched below.
The latest revelations from Dominic Cummings bring into sharp focus the immediate need for an immediate public inquiry over the UK government's pandemic response. @BorisJohnson can't be allowed to kick this into the long grass. There are extremely serious questions to answer. pic.twitter.com/ZeIv1xiCMA
— Ian Blackford (@Ianblackford_MP) July 20, 2021
One revelation that may have flown under the radar was that Johnson referred to the daily newspaper the Telegraph "his real boss", for which he used to be a columnist.
Dominic Cummings - "Boris Johnson calls the Telegraph his real boss." pic.twitter.com/ifK8mSj7pT
— Haggis_UK 🇬🇧 🇪🇺 (@Haggis_UK) July 20, 2021
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon issues scathing response to 'leaked Boris Johnson WhatsApps'
And with all major revelations revealed beforehand, some were a bit taken aback about the interview's timeslot.
Murray Foote said: "This Cummings interview is truly extraordinary television regardless of your political beliefs. But not extraordinary enough to displace the One Show."
This Cummings interview is truly extraordinary television regardless of your political beliefs. But not extraordinary enough to displace the One Show.
— Murray Foote (@murrayf00te) July 20, 2021
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