Questions over whether Dominic Cummings remains Boris Johnson’s adviser

Dominic Cummings leaves 10 Downing Street, London. PA Photo. Picture date: Tuesday October 29, 2019. The UK is on course for a December general election after Jeremy Corbyn announced that Labour's conditions to back the move had been met. See PA story POLITICS Brexit. Photo credit should read: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire - Credit: PA

It has been claimed that Dominic Cummings resigned as Boris Johnson’s senior adviser three weeks ago, but there are questions over whether he had since returned to the job, while also assisting the Tory campaign.

Cummings had been a senior figure in the Vote Leave campaign before becoming Boris Johnson’s senior aide back in July.

His appointment came just months after he was found in contempt of parliament for refusing to appear in front of MPs during a select committee meeting investigating fake news during the EU referendum campaign.

The Guardian reports that Dominic Cummings stepped down from his post as a “formality” on November 6th, but there are concerns he since returned to the post to help the prime minister dealing with flooding in the North.

Liberal Democrat spokesperson Tom Brake said he was concerned that Cummings has been mixing his work between the Tories and government after “media reports Dominic Cummings has been in more regular communication with campaign staff over the last week”.

In a letter to cabinet secretary, Sir Mark Sedwill, he said: “A number of other special advisers have, in line with the code of conduct for special advisers and with the agreement of the prime minister, remained in their roles, for example, where there is an ongoing need for their support in government work.

“As set out in paragraph 18 of the code of conduct for special advisers, however, those who remain in post to work on government business must ensure that they do not use official resources for party political purposes and that any participation in the campaign is in a special adviser’s own time and outside office hours.”

Cummings had been filmed in Westminster by anti-Brexit campaigner Steve Bray – close to Conservative Party headquarters – earlier in the week.

He also raised eyebrows this week by posting a blog post that encouraged pro-Brexit voters to back the Conservatives to ensure a majority.

In his post he hit out at MPs for preventing the implementation of Brexit by October 31st. He said: “A powerful network did all they could to stop Brexit and make a pro-Brexit government impossible.

“Billionaires hired lawyers — some of them the same charlatans who spread fake news about Vote Leave and Russia for three years — to write legislation and start legal cases to force delay, hoping that delay would bring the chance for another referendum.”

A cabinet office source responded to questions about the post stating that he had “resigned following the dissolution of parliament… along with the majority of special advisers” back on November 6th.