Cummings evidence today

[Dirtystreetpie]

Anyone listening?

I think he (Hancock) probably does lack complete competence but he makes up for it with resilience and cheeriness and positive thinking and those imo are important characteristics too. Imagine if Hancock was. Gordon Brown type, yes competent but stressed and anxious under pressure and rude/ bullying to staff

Stupid of me to prefer a competent and honest individual who would be prepared to listen to the science, balance the pros and cons, and do what was best, even if they got a bit stressed and short-tempered.

You are right - much better to have an incompetent, lying Pollyanna of a minister who doesn't give a damn about anything but saving his own job while lining his own pockets, and is a smiling joy to behold because he doesn't give a damn about how many people are suffering and dying.

I'm wondering what he has on Boris....

He’s a manipulative record keeper too. I’m fairly certain he’ll lie to protect himself and own up to just enough to make it look like he’s sorry but the records he have must be fascinating.

This.

One minute he's all "mea culpa" as though he was in charge, the next it's all "I'm not that smart I was in over my head".
He is a slimy, lying, arse of a man who thinks us plebs are thick and can't see through him. He tries present as a cool, edgy, anti-establishement figure when he is the establishment.

And this.

Oh, who needs competence and honesty!?!

We've managed to stumble through the pandemic without them - surely that proves how pointless they are as qualities!

@BeastfromtheNorthEast

We had suppliers from the South East sending us face masks that we were able to give in to local care homes when there were shortages in PPE in the UK. They knew what was coming. One of the MPs questioning Cummings said his wife was coming back from China and said what is happening in Wuhan is real, why is there so much inertia in the UK. I think Johnson genuinely thought the great British spirit could tackle Covid without other interventions.

There was a lot of "couldn't happen here" type comments in the UK around January or Feb. A lot of rather racist comments by people I know about how we're just better than China so it won't happen here.

To be clear: I'm being sarcastic.

I'm actually really depressed we still don't seem to care about competence, honesty and suitability as necessary qualities for government. ☹️

Also, he thinks people take at face value that he drove on the road to Barnard Castle to 'check his eyesight'.

Oh bless. He apologises for not pressing the panic button on other people's mess ups. And thinks everyone is credulous to his manoeuverings.

A chappie who pretended to have written and warned of something when it was doctored.

Pity Andrew Tyrie isn't exposing Cummings' codswallop.

@PerkingFaintly

He’s a manipulative record keeper too. I’m fairly certain he’ll lie to protect himself and own up to just enough to make it look like he’s sorry but the records he have must be fascinating.

This.

One minute he's all "mea culpa" as though he was in charge, the next it's all "I'm not that smart I was in over my head".
He is a slimy, lying, arse of a man who thinks us plebs are thick and can't see through him. He tries present as a cool, edgy, anti-establishement figure when he is the establishment.

And this.

Absolutely!

He's the equivalent of a criminal given immunity from prosecution for crimes he is KNOWN to have committed if he grasses up on the rest.

However, he is well aware that there are plenty of crimes that no-one is yet aware he is involved in, and he'll make sure he glosses over them so that he comes out smelling of roses.

"I'm not that smart" - Oh yes you are, you cunning little sh*t!

Some of the comments defending the government on here astonish me. Were you listening to the questions asked. and answers given? I've a friend who is an epidemiologist working with Moderns who has said for months that (apart from the NHS vaccination programme) most decisions by the govt have been shocking.

Is everyone actually listening to the committee ? What Cummings says contains a clear admission that he was out of his depth, and the government majorly failed in the Feb early March period and that people died as a result.

And yes, of course, it was a woman Helen McNamara who came and spoke truth to power. After that the plans changed.

Surely he must on some level realise that the apathy that allowed him to find and keep hold of the power that he had for as long as he did is the same apathy that will ensure that very little will come of the truly appalling revelations that he's making today.

Yes, there were a lot of couldn't happen here comments, including on MN. But some people did see it coming.

• ModernA

And as for bullying of staff - Priti Patel ring a bell?
www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/feb/29/home-office-chief-sir-philip-rutnam-quits-over-priti-patel-bullying

www.globalgovernmentforum.com/former-ethics-chief-quits-leaving-patel-the-last-one-standing/

Allan subsequently concluded that the home secretary had “not consistently met the high standards required by the ministerial code.” When the PM refused to act on his advice, Allan quit

Im waiting to hear Dom say that Boris thought if we could make a union flag big enough, we'd be able to bat covid away into outer space...

Or put sufferers on a Covid Island or a Covid bridge to recover....

"Time to form a square around the Prittster"

And no-one batted an eyelid.

I would imagine only selective stuff is aired. This is the chappie who amended a communication retrospectively and then pointed out how he had been prescient. Faked his evidence.

Interestingly, the session Chair Greg Clark challenged DC on this, and DC said he pasted some longer passages into the blogs that had been written contemporaneously with the rest of the original blog, so he had changed the blog by extending it, not by altering it.

That's his narrative.

It astounds me that a person with zero credibility for the truth, has anyone hanging on their every word as if it's gospel

I'd like to think not many will treat it as "gospel" - Cumming's isn't a man with integrity, and as part of the political machine lying goes with the territory

Still want to know what's really caused him to turn on Boris though ...

@NannyPlumsSnarkyWand ironically just like the Cabinet did around Cummings last year, all the 'he acted like any responsible father would' comments then 'It's just a political ding-dong, move on'

Snakes the lot of them.

@AMillionMilesAway

I'm wondering what he has on Boris....

Yes there will be powder that he is keeping dry

@Bagamoyo1

The hypocrisy is astounding. DC flouted the rules, took the piss out of the population, sat in that garden spouting utter crap to journalists with full government backing - while the rest of us were following rules, missing family/friends, losing livelihoods etc. And now he has the audacity to say that other people messed up! He must have an ego the size of a solar system.

Absolutely this.

I know the government made massive mistakes - it's been widely suggested the pandemic plan was for flu not other possible viruses and the government was picked more for Brexit - I do think Matt Hancock struggled and looked out his depth early on - the PPE situation was terrible.

I think the really massive mistakes were discharging infected to carehomes - and getting to bottom of why and how to do better for future is vital.

But this is a well known liar with a very clear axe to grind - why he's being given so much media attention is beyond me.

I think boris has to be very careful what he denies. I think Cummings could have recordings backing up his evidence

@StopGo I’m so very sorry for your loss 💐

Everyone’s different. People want answers which I understand. For me personally, it makes my blood boil how they dealt with it. I was prepared in late January/early Feb because of Mumsnet. I knew they were too late. Cheltenham races, Crufts etc going ahead was unbelievable.

I hate hearing about how they didn’t care, how they lied and how they left everything far too late. They messed up, will this change them? I very much doubt it. He held off on red listing India because he meant to be visiting. Friday he apparently put areas into local lockdown and didn’t tell anyone.

DC massively broke the rules so I find it hard to believe him. They’re all guilty of so many things but sadly I don’t think this will make any difference. I’ll be interested to see what outcome all this has, if any x

Yes, why is he turning on Boris Johnson now?
What is the real story?
(His invite to their wedding next year is truly blown! )
Plus he couldn't help to sneak in a bit about Carrie and her involvement with a preoccupation over the dog story whilst more important things were going on .. It's her he seems to have a bigger problem with.

Who is going to pay any attention to what that lying duplicitous weasel says.

Dominic Cummings - what clearer illustration of Boris’s lack of judgement could there be?