‘Behind each mask lies another mask’: Dominic Cummings tears into Boris Johnson in latest blog post

Dominic Cummings is at it again, lashing out at his old boss in a lengthy new blog post.

In his latest entry, titled ‘Boris: normal mode vs self-aware mode’ the Prime Minister’s former chief aide revealed yet more details of conversations he had with the PM while at the heart of Number 10.

The Vote Leave mastermind also took the opportunity to challenge public perceptions of Boris Johnson, insisting there was more to him than just the “clown” image “generally portrayed” by the media.

“The truth is” he is neither a clown nor a “campaign genius”, Cummings wrote in his paywall-protected Substack post. “Boris is complex but portrayed as simple.”

He continued: “Behind each mask lies another mask – but there’s no masterplan behind the masks, just the age old ‘will to power’.

“He is happy to hide behind the mask of a clown, mostly unbothered by ridicule, while calculations remain largely hidden (including from parts of his own mind.”

His assessment was met with a mixed response on Twitter, with some users praising the former adviser’s analysis, while others blamed him for “creating the monster”.

Here’s a look at what commentators had to say:

In his Substack blog, published on Monday, Cummings also revealed that he had always believed Johnson was “unfit to be PM”.

“He knew too,” the former right-hand man said, suggesting that Johnson himself admitted his suitability for the role.

Cummings said the soon-to-be PM made the admission the day after the EU referendum and shortly after David Cameron quit as leader.

He wrote: “On 24 June 2016 in Vote Leave HQ, just after Cameron had resigned, Boris pulled me into the odd little room where the ‘campaign within the campaign’ was run. What now?

“Boris told me with a laugh, ‘Obviously it’s ludicrous me being PM – but no more ludicrous than Dave (Cameron) or George, don’t you think?’

“I agreed and reminded him of the main elements of the deal we’d agreed with (Michael) Gove about what to do next.”

Cummings left Downing Street in November last year following a furious internal power struggle with the Prime Minister’s then-fiancee, Carrie Symonds.

Following weeks of criticism of Johnson, Cummings wrote that he had been questioned about why he took up the Downing Street role “if you knew Boris was so hopeless” and why he was involved in the 2019 general election.

In his new post, Cummings said that in spring 2019, he and his team had discussed the “pros and cons” of him becoming prime minister, writing that Johnson’s time as foreign secretary was a “severe warning of the dangers ahead”.

He said he decided to “roll the dice” and support efforts to get Mr Johnson into Number 10, over fears of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn becoming prime minister and the possibility of a second EU referendum.

He added: “If we win the election then he tries to move us out of No 10, we can try to move him out of No 10 – two can play at that game – and we can use reshuffles to move some much more able people into position.”

In the 2016 Tory leadership contest, Johnson ruled himself out after his ally Michael Gove, who was his campaign manager, dramatically quit and made a bid for the leadership himself.

Johnson became Prime Minister in 2019 after winning the Conservative Party leadership race following the resignation of Theresa May, and went on to secure a landslide win at the general election later that year.

In his blog post, Cummings also attacked the PM’s wife Carrie, claiming she was often “literally whispering” in Johnson’s ear.

He said that the Prime Minister’s personality changed last year when “Boris-Carrie mode” was created, adding that he intended to write more blog posts about the couple’s relationship.

He wrote: “In 2020, a new and very unwelcome version appeared — Boris-Carrie mode — which, like some demonic Russian virus, started overwriting previous Boris versions.”

Stay tuned for the next installment... Cummings clearly isn’t going anywhere.