Brexit bruiser goes to war on No Deal refuseniks
THE Prime Minister’s senior adviser sparked uproar last night after a brutal behind-the-scenes briefing against former chancellor Philip Hammond.
Dominic Cummings, the mastermind behind the Vote Leave campaign who is now at the centre of the No10 machine, accused Mr Hammond and former business secretary Greg Clark, of ‘frustrating’ preparations for a No Deal Brexit.
His comments came in an extraordinary meeting yesterday morning with special advisers, the political appointees assigned to Cabinet ministers, who were told they would be sacked if they were caught leaking or briefing against the Government.
Ordered into No10 at 7.55am, they were instructed to do everything to prepare for No Deal and to make sure Brexit happens on October 31.
But Mr Cummings’s most explosive comments, which appeared designed to be leaked, were aimed at Mr Hammond and Mr Clark, who both quit when Theresa May left office.
He told the meeting: ‘It’s clear as we look at the process for No Deal planning, that in all sorts of ways, the previous government did not take this seriously, as you know. Lots of ministers, clearly like Greg Clark and Hammond, hadn’t.
‘Precisely because they did not want to – they did not want the country to be ready for No Deal for political purposes. Therefore they neglected all sorts of things.’ A source said: ‘Dom said that Philip and Greg had actively frustrated No Deal preparations. He made the point twice, and said that would not be accepted any more.’
But last night one Hammond ally hit back saying: ‘This is simply untrue. The bigger question is why is Cummings so keen to spend yet more taxpayers’ money on something his boss insists has only a “one in a million” chance of happening?’ Since entering No10, Mr Cummings – who David Cameron described as a ‘career psychopath’ – has appeared to revel in his notoriety. On day one, he was seen in the background when Mr Johnson arrived in No10.
Yesterday he was pictured walking down Downing St carrying a ‘Vote Leave’ tote bag. Reports in advance of yesterday’s meeting suggested it could result in large numbers of special advisors being sacked. But he told the group – who are technically employed by No10 and not their ministerial bosses – that he would find out if they leaked damaging material.
He reportedly said: ‘My worth to journalists is greater than yours. For the right story they will rat you out.’
At one point in the meeting, the Mail understands, Mr Cummings also observed that those present were not writing down what he was saying.
One source said: ‘Nobody was taking notes, so he said, “Get your notebooks out and start taking this down”.’