‘Harry’ Cummings?

DURING my time at Westminster, I saw many an eventful, verbal confrontation before a Commons Select Committee. Top of my “spectacular” list, as a then member of the Social Security Select Committee, was watching the Maxwell brothers appear before us and answer every question about what happened to the Maxwell pensioners’ retirement funds with “on the advice of counsel we decline to answer”. Silence said it all. The experience remained unsurpassed, until now.

Enter Dominic Cummings. His recent Select Committee appearance broke all records for pure theatrical drama, even putting anything that happened in seven series of US TV’s political drama The West Wing in the shade. Eyes flashing, hands gesticulating, mouth in overdrive. Out poured his “evidence” of UK government, pandemic “failure” for (wait for it) — a mind-boggling seven hours!

Boris was “unfit for the job” and his Cabinet colleagues were “inexperienced” (who isn’t, until they join Cabinet?). Out the allegations and rubbishing of individuals poured (all of whom Cummings seemed happy to work with until his demise). What came out was not the illuminating disclosure of failure he hoped it would be. He appeared like a man scorned, wrapped up in himself, seeking revenge. A miscalculation only the “inexperienced” usually make.

Who does all this remind you of? Who else has benefited from a position of great privilege and then turned on everything and everybody who made that privilege possible? Step forward Prince Harry. Fat lot of good it has done him. Still, Mr Cummings has one option left. There’s always Oprah Winfrey.