The team of the UK's former chancellor, who joined the leadership contest on Friday following Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s decision to resign, has denied claims of Rishi Sunak having any links to “toxic” former No 10 adviser Dominic Cummings.
“Mr. Cummings and Rishi have not spoken since he [Cummings] left No 10 almost two years ago,” The Daily Mail cited a Sunak campaign spokesperson as saying.
The spokesperson added that there was “absolutely no involvement whatsoever” between Sunak’s campaign and Cummings, and that the ex-Downing Street adviser would have “no role” in a Sunak government if the former Chancellor wins the leadership race.
The remarks followed an unnamed leadership campaign source telling The Mail that candidates in the contest “should come clean about whether they are receiving any advice at all from Cummings, because it is obvious he is trying to insert himself into the campaign.”
“I think he is poisoning the well of debate, and trying to turn this contest into something that it doesn’t need to be. This could be a completely clean and fair fight about Conservative values. Rishi Sunak’s campaign should come clean. Are they having any contact with Dom, do they welcome any contact, are they receiving any advice?” the source argued.
Another insider was quoted by The Mail as claiming that Cummings “has done enough damage to British and public life and the last thing the [Conservative] party needs is his advice at this stage, with his brand of toxic, confrontational and destructive politics.”
Nadine Dorries, a close ally of ousted Boris Johnson, for her part, told the newspaper that the former No 10 aide had been working with Sunak for “quite a long time” and was ostensibly hoping to return to Downing Street.
“People have to ask themselves the question: why is Cummings backing Rishi? The answer to that question is because Cummings believes he can control Rishi and sees a role for himself back in government, and that is quite terrifying,” Dorries claimed.
Cummings Slams Tory Leadership Contenders
She spoke after Cummings, a former senior Johnson aide who played an important role in BoJo’s government, launched an array of attacks on Tory leadership contenders via social media in recent days.
He argued, in particular, on Twitter that “three current candidates would be worse than Boris [Johnson]” and “at least one is more insane than [Foreign Secretary Liz] Truss, clearly unfit to be anywhere near nuclear codes.”
Cummings added that it would be “very Westminster” for “Boris to get the bullet cos of lies over sex/groping... only to be replaced by someone actually sh***ing their spad!”
This comes as the Sunday Times reported that Tory leadership campaign teams are drawing up "dirty" dossiers against rival candidates and their aides. A total of 11 former and current government official have already officially declared their readiness to take part in the race.
According to the Sunday Times, at least two rival campaign teams handed Labour files containing allegations against their potential opponents, with the dossiers reportedly being packed with claims of S&M sexual kinks, extramarital affairs, the use of prostitutes, illicit drugs, and tax evasion schemes.
Anti-Sunak Dossier Circulated on WhatsApp
In a separate development, The Telegraph reported that MPs opposed to Sunak had circulated the so-called “dirty dossier” aimed at hampering the ex-Chancellor’s campaign.
The 424-word document being circulated on a Tory WhatsApp group reportedly attacks Sunak personally, calling him “a liar” and a “schoolboy” and accusing him of having a “big tax and big spend agenda.”
The missive reportedly alleged that Sunak “added £400 billion ($479 billion) to the national debt to pay workers not to work, only to spend countless more billions for them to eat out a few weeks later.”
The Telegraph argued that the “mucky memo” was written by someone on the Thatcherite right of the Conservative Party.
Sunak's Resignation
Sunak quit as Treasury chief last Tuesday night within minutes of Sajid Javid's resignation as health secretary, in what prompted speculation that the two had coordinated their exits from Johnson's Cabinet. In a resignation letter to BoJo, Sunak publicly questioned the PM’s competence and seriousness, also referring to “fundamental” differences between himself and Johnson on economic policy.
The ex-Chancellor stepped down following the scandal pertaining to Tory deputy chief whip Christopher Pincher, who resigned earlier this month, admitting to having "drunk far too much" amid reports that he groped two men in a London club. Pincher already quit office once in 2017 after being accused of making a pass at ex-Olympic rower and Tory activist Alex Story. The Tory MP referred himself to police at the time, but was cleared of wrongdoing by a party probe.
The resignations of Sunak and Javid came shortly after BoJo admitted he had made a "bad mistake" in appointing Pincher to the role of deputy chief whip earlier this year, despite being made aware of previous allegations about the lawmaker’s misconduct. Apart from Sunak and Javid, a number of other government officials stepped down amid the Pincher scandal.
The developments culminated in Johnson announcing last Thursday that he was standing down as party leader, adding that he plans to remain in office as prime minister until a successor is picked, possibly until the autumn. BoJo had been under pressure to resign amid a series of scandals, including the “Partygate” row, which revealed that several social gatherings were held at BoJo’s offices throughout 2020 and 2021 in violation of the COVID-19 lockdown rules.