It was his arrogance that really upset me

I FEEL I must write to you to let you understand how I, and I am sure many others, feel about Mr Cummings’ press conference.

The biggest impression is of his arrogance when he turned up late and gave a cursory apology. While I and millions of other people waited, Downing Street, after a 10-minute delay, said it would start in a couple of minutes.

This usually means two or three minutes. In fact it was a further 20 minutes, a full 30 full minutes late, before he bothered to turn up. He did not explain his tardiness but anyone could guess that inside Number 10 there was panic and confusion. Hardly a way to run a country.

A true professional would have been ready on time and had the common courtesy to attend a pre-arranged meeting at the appointed time. I would imagine a late journalist would not have been allowed in.

It smacks of power play, with him holding the power over the other attendees and the TV audience. He thought he was in charge and this was his way of showing it. A person with good people skills would never have treated others, even subordinates, in such a cavalier manner.

It is about time that the PM crawled out of the shadow of Mr Cummings and stood on his own two feet. Mr Cummings is no longer a backroom, all be it very well paid, adviser but an election liability.