BoJo 'Encouraged Media Attacks' on Junior Staffers Amid Partygate Scandal, Cummings Says

Boris Johnson's former senior aide Dominic Cummings has accused the UK prime minister of encouraging attacks on junior civil servants over the so-called "partygate" scandal in order to divert attention away from him and his wife.

In his latest blog post, Cummings claimed "it is deeply, deeply contemptible that not just the PM but senior civil servants have allowed such people to have their reputations attacked in order to protect the sociopathic narcissist squatting in the No 10 flat".

He argued that "everybody at the centre of events also knows that the PM encouraged the media attacks on junior officials in order to divert the lobby's attention from him and [his wife] Carrie breaking the law. Some very senior officials have turned a blind eye".

Cummings asserted that these officials "should realise they will have to defend their defence of the sociopath for the rest of their lives" and that "their last chance to escape this shame is to resign over the next 12 weeks".

Referring to Johnson's former Principal Private Secretary {PPS) Martin Reynolds, Cummings also noted that "over the last few days, many junior officials have been fined for attending an event that the PM's PPS organised".

"The PPS […] was responsible for ensuring that events in No 10 were consistent not just with the rules but with basic ethical standards", the PM's former aide claimed.

The remarks come after the first fines were issued by the Metropolitan Police as it is investigating the scandal pertaining to COVID rule-busting parties on Downing Street that hit Johnson last year. The £50 fines are reportedly related to a social gathering at the Cabinet Office on 18 June 2021. The names of the officials who received the so-called Fixed Penalty Notices haven't been disclosed.

The Met's probe followed the publication in late January of the initial findings of senior civil servant Sue Gray's report on the "partygate" allegations. The document pointed out that there were "failures of leadership and judgment by different parts of No 10 and the Cabinet Office" and that "some of the events should not have been allowed to take place".

As for the Met inquiry, it is dealing with 12 separate events, including six that Johnson is believed to have attended, such as a "bring your own booze" gathering in May 2020 and the PM's birthday celebrations in June 2020.

The PM, who is grappling with calls to step down over the "partygate" row, previously claimed that he had not broken the rules and considered the events as work-related. He also apologised and reshuffled his senior staff following the publication of Gray's initial findings, but made it clear that he intends to "get on" with his job.

In a separate development in February, more than 100 Conservative MPs reportedly signalled their readiness to turn against Johnson if a no-confidence vote against him is triggered. It takes 54 letters of no confidence from Conservative MPs to trigger such a vote. Between 30 and 45 lawmakers are understood to have already sent letters to the chair of the Conservatives' 1922 Committee, Sir Graham Brady.

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