RECRIMINATIONS over the Government’s historic defeat began as soon as the Supreme Court gave its verdict, with key players at Number 10 under fire.
They included the Prime Minister’s chief adviser Dominic Cummings and his director of legislative affairs Nikki da Costa, who both featured in the Court’s detailed ruling.
Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill was also facing questions over why he failed to offer any witness statements to the Court to assist the government’s case.
Former Tory Attorney General Dominic Grieve told ITV: “Mr Cummings should quit his job. It’s perfectly obvious he’s not fit to be the adviser to a Prime Minister.
“Mr Cummings comes across as a complete anarchist, somebody who’s willing to see anything smashed in order to try to achieve his political aims. The sooner he’s gone the better.”
He added: “If I were in the Prime Minister’s position, I would resign. He has in eight weeks done a vast amount of damage and actually dishonoured himself; I would go.
“But I don’t think he will go, and as he won’t go, what I would then like to say to him is, Stop smashing things up and start listening to the House of Commons and working with people of good will in the House of Commons to find a way out of this.”
Nigel Farage also said Mr Cummings, with whom he has fought in the past, should go.
The Brexit Party leader tweeted: “The calling of a Queen’s Speech and prorogation is the worst political decision ever. Dominic Cummings must go.”
Tory rebel David Gauke, the former Justice Secretary responded: “Strange times. I agree with Nigel.”
Mr Gauke also told the BBC that Mr Johnson should apologise to parliament and Mr Cummings’s position was “untenable”.
He said: “I do think there’s a need for a change of approach, and he [the PM] needs to look again at the people who are advising him.
“I think clearly Dominic Cummings, who was the driving force behind the suspension of parliament, I think his position is untenable.
“I hope that is the approach the Prime Minister takes. I hope that he seeks to unite the country and parliament rather than dividing it, and that we won’t have any rhetoric about people versus the establishment.”
Asked about Mr Johnson’s integrity, Mr Gauke said: “There’s no doubt he’s in a difficult position but I’m not sure what the country needs at the moment is another Conservative party leadership election”
Social media was also buzzing with ironic references to “Classic Dom”, the joke that all Mr Johnson’s apparent failures are part of Mr Cummings’s God-like, impenetrable scheming.
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