A BBC News presenter has struggled to show “journalistic balance” over the resignation of Boris Johnson’s senior aide Dominic Cummings, as she mocked some of the responses he received to a tweet highlighting his resignation.
Cummings was seen leaving Number 10 with a box of possessions, prompting speculation about his future, before it was revealed that he would be departing government with “immediate effect”.
He had originally been expected to remain at the heart of government until Christmas, but shortly after 5pm it was revealed he was leaving today.
It was left to Martine Croxall to announce the breaking news on the BBC News channel.
As the channel showed a tweet from an account claiming to be from Cummings, Croxall said she wanted to show a flavour of the responses coming into the Vote Leave mastermind.
One evening’s reading material. https://t.co/YjracjD1SP
— Odyssean Project (@OdysseanProject) November 13, 2020
Trying to stifle a laugh, she explained: “If you’re on Twitter you might entertain yourself by some of the comments underneath that solitary tweet.
“I’m so tempted to read them out but I’d struggle for journalistic balance, I think”.
She added: “Probably not the last we’ve heard of him, he will no doubt have some interesting plans…”
Tweeting under the alias “Odyssean Project”, the Brexiteer quoted tweeted journalist Robert Peston with a photograph of Cummings leaving No 10.
“You got Mark Francois in that box?” asked one.
“Shouldn’t take a whole evening to read your P45,” wrote Warren Jacobs.
“I thought you had the head of @BorisJohnson in your box,” commented another.
“Next stop Specsavers,” said Chris Gill, while Jeff Hewitt asked: “Off to Barnard Castle for an eye test?”
Mark Watson meanwhile quipped: “Thanks Dom. BBC chairman job awaits.”
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