DANNY Kruger, MP and former No 10 aide, hit the mark in his defence of Dominic Cummings. Such perception and forensic insight from one such Tory MP.

He states openly that criticism of Cummings is tantamount to a vote of no confidence in the PM!

That is right to the point and, unwittingly, as many of the pro-Cummings wallahs are doing, is to highlight the root of the problem: bungling, bumbling Boris.

Without Cummings to “hard wire” Johnson’s mental and verbal processes, the PM is an incoherent wreck, spouting garbled, verbal drivel spiced with bursts of verbless sentences. Add to this the visual demeanour of a Hooray Henry, and the comic character is complete.

Yet, this whole saga is an indictment on Johnson. It is so bad that even the Tories in Scotland, although ‘Union Jack’ is in hiding, are up in arms! The once loyal yes men and women in the diminished Tory ranks at Holyrood have had enough and must speak out. Yet, before one blinks in disbelief, Jackson Carlaw still claims it is the Cummings saga which is distracting Boris Johnson from getting coronavirus done. Of course, Boris’s influence only reaches as far as the border between Scotland and England. Given the cack-handed way Boris Johnson has handled the Cummings affair, the PM is incapable of total grasp of anything other than breathless gasping bluster incapable of operationalizing action and it results in U-turns.

The criticism of Johnson’s handling of the matter is actually misplaced. How can he have any force when Cummings is the influence behind him? Cummings calls the shots and Boris would be starved of political oxygen if he were to do it alone.

This is turning out to become a vote of no confidence not only on the PM, but in the whole impenetrable mechanisms of the UK Government machine from the top down.

When one minister blurts out that people can now do what Cummings has done when family circumstances are troubled, one cannot then change off the cuff the guidelines in response to a mistake by the elite and privileged in the land in order to save the PM and his “prompt!”

As Johnson has been seen in the last few days to gasp, panic in the face of questions and repeat the old mantra “it is time to move on” added with the usual hooray image of more easing to come – his fall-back shtick when lost – he is a sorry sight and has now been truly found out!

Danny Kruger has hit the mark and verbalised it succinctly for all to hear.

John Edgar

Kilmaurs