Dominic Cummings: 'There Are Photographs Of Boris Johnson At Parties Under Police Investigation'

Dominic Cummings has claimed there are photographs of Boris Johnson at alleged rule-breaking parties under investigation by police.

The prime minister’s former chief aide says he had spoken to people who were in No 10 on November 13, 2020, when an alleged gathering in Johnson’s Downing Street flat took place.

He went on to allege witnesses would say Abba could be heard playing from the apartment above the press office.

In a question and answer session on his paid-for blog, Cummings was asked if there were photos that would “incriminate” the PM.

He said: “Yes there are photos of the PM at parties under investigation. Ive spoken to people who say theyve seen photos of parties in the flat.”

The former adviser added: “Ive talked to people who were in no10 on 13/11 who cd hear the party in no10 after I’d left – the press office is below the flat.

“If cops talk to people there that night, therell be witnsesses (sic) who say ‘we could all hear a party with abba playing’.”

Officers are investigating 12 separate gatherings in No 10 and Whitehall during 2020 and 2021 – including three that Johnson is known to have attended and the one in the PM’s Downing Street flat – to find out whether coronavirus lockdown laws were broken.

He accused the PM of “lying” and added: “This could blow up terminally for him if lies to the cops but he wont be able to help himself other than say ‘i dont remember’ which is his default when he senses danger.”

Cummings also said there was “no excuse for self-delusions” in the Tory party about Johnson, adding “at this point the blame lies mostly with the Tory MPs”.

He said: “He’s obviously totally unfit for the job and every day he’s left their moral authority drops another notch.”

But he added: “There’s lots of blame to go around beyond them, including people in no10 who have also shown a distinct lack of moral courage…”

The Ask Me Anything (AMA) event came as the fall-out from the partygate scandal showed no sign calming.

Downing Street said Johnson will reveal if he has been hit with a fine for breaching coronavirus rules, despite the identity of people being issued with a fixed penalty notice not usually being disclosed by police.

Meanwhile, Peter Aldous became the latest Tory MP to publicly call on Johnson to resign “in the best interests of the country, the government and the Conservative Party”.

He said that he believed the Prime Minister had no intention of going voluntarily and so he had submitted a letter of the chairman of the backbench 1922 Committee Sir Graham Brady calling for a vote of no confidence.

The Met is examining hundreds of documents and photographs in relation to the 12 events in 2020 and 2021 held while England was under coronavirus restrictions.

The evidence was passed to the police by the investigation team led by senior official Sue Gray, whose interim report on Monday highlighted “failures of leadership and judgment” at the heart of government but did not point the finger of blame at any individuals.

Her conclusions were limited following a request by the Metropolitan Police to make only limited references to the events under investigation, leaving it to Scotland Yard to decide whether laws were broken.

In his AMA, Cummings said the chances of foreign secretary Liz Truss becoming Tory leader are “probably being overrated”.

He said the fact that “MPs are heavily influenced by polls” would “obviously benefit (Rishi) Sunak” in any future leadership race, and said Sunak pro-Brexit stance would also help him.

Cummings said Truss was “little known” and had “said a lot of stuff that will not be popular with members if/when they hear it”. If she gets to the last 2, the combination of her support for Remain and her record will be big problems for her. Her chances are probably being overrated,” he said.

He said he thought levelling up Secretary Michael Gove “probably will” run again, while on Tory MP Tom Tugendhat, he said: “He has never been in Cabinet and it is hard to imagine Tory MPs promoting someone straight to the top job who has not been in Cabinet.”

He said: “RS is obviously the front runner cos he’s way ahead in the polls and unlike Truss/Hunt/TT was pro-Brexit.

“His team conceived and executed furlough in very tough circumstances, and which was one of most popular things a politician has done in a very long time. That will be a big strength when the contest comes.”