BORIS Johnson can’t get away with trying to “distract from his own conduct” in a new row about Dominic Cummings, the SNP’s Westminster leader has said.
Ian Blackford reacted this morning as a new story about the former chief adviser to the PM hit the headlines.
Among Downing Street sources, Cummings is being blamed for the leaking of the PM’s text messages with billionaire Sir James Dyson.
Texts were leaked showing Johnson promised to “fix” a tax issue for Dyson staff working on ventilators at the start of the coronavirus pandemic last year.
READ MORE: No 10 sources point finger at Cummings over Boris Johnson's Dyson text leaks
Another text message, from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, to the Tory leader previously was leaked.
The Telegraph said it is understood Cummings had access to the messages while working at Number 10. A source said: “If you join the dots it looks like it’s coming from Dom.”
“Dominic is engaged in systematic leaking,” another source told The Times. “We are disappointed about that.”
The source suggested the Prime Minister was “saddened” and Cummings was “bitter” after his exit from No 10.
This morning, journalists have questioned whether the Cummings angle is a “dead cat” – a political strategy where a dramatic topic is introduced to push people away from a more damaging topic.
The Dyson messages emerged as the UK Government faces sustained allegations of “cronyism” after a series of reports of former prime minister David Cameron lobbying for his employer, Greensill Capital.
Blackford shared a post indicating the Cummings row is a “dead cat”, and added: “Boris Johnson must not be allowed to distract from his own conduct and the growing scandal of Tory sleaze.
“There must be a full independent inquiry into Tory donors and friends being handed contracts, special access, treatment and peerages by the UK Government. It stinks.”
Boris Johnson must not be allowed to distract from his own conduct and the growing scandal of Tory sleaze.
— Ian Blackford (@Ianblackford_MP) April 23, 2021
There must be a full independent inquiry into Tory donors and friends being handed contracts, special access, treatment and peerages by the UK government. It stinks. https://t.co/cYm6MEcf72
Last night a committee of senior MPs rejected a Labour call to launch an investigation into Johnson’s conduct over “cronyism”.
Shadow frontbencher Rachel Reeves issued the call, but the Liaison Committee’s chairman rejected the appeal – stating existing inquiries were already looking into the issues.
Meanwhile, Downing Street announced an internal inquiry into the leak of the private text messages between Johnson and Sir James.
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