DOMINIC Cummings has spent the afternoon ahead of his first broadcast interview launching a vicious attack on Keir Starmer and his front bench.
The Prime Minister’s former chief adviser and ex-Vote Leave chief, who says he has never been a member of a political party, has spent most of his time since leaving Downing Street in November attacking Boris Johnson over his approach to the pandemic.
As part of tonight’s BBC interview with Laura Kuenssberg, he alleged Johnson was reluctant to increase virus restrictions last autumn as “the people who are dying are essentially all over 80”.
He shared WhatsApp messages which appear to be from the Tory leader stating that he no longer believed “all this NHS overwhelmed stuff”.
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon responded to the allegations during her briefing this afternoon, telling reporters that nobody in a position of leadership should be “glib or complacent about human life”.
While newspapers focused on Cummings’s interview – which includes him claiming that the Prime Minister wanted to meet the Queen in person just days before lockdown started despite people in his own office self-isolating – the expert took to Twitter to criticise the leader of the opposition as well.
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon issues scathing response to 'leaked Boris Johnson WhatsApps'
Starmer has had a rocky year as Labour leader with approval ratings falling over time, despite the chaos in the Conservative government. According to Politico’s Poll of Polls, as of July 19 the Tories are polling at 42% while Labour are lagging behind on 33%, on average.
The division within his party is also heightened at the moment as he prepares to support a purge of left-wing Corbynista factions.
In a dig at Labour’s shadow Cabinet, Cummings tweeted: “I've got a vague idea the woman whose name I can't remember who was Shadow CHX was replaced by someone whose name I also can't remember. And I can't think of ONE idea Starmer has suggested as leader. Not one. And I worked in No10 til recently. So probably means median voter ditto.
READ MORE: Dominic Cummings: The Interview: Laura Kuenssberg's ties to PM's former aide
“Turns out it's someone called Rachel Reeves whose name rings a vague bell, whose face doesn't, & I can't think of a single thing about her. I don't even know if she voted Remain/Brexit. Do Labour MPs realise Starmer is a total dud & they have *literally no message*?!”
One of the biggest criticisms Starmer has faced since taking over from Jeremy Corbyn is that it’s not clear what he stands for.
George Galloway, who ran a heavily criticised campaign in the Batley and Spen by-election, called him a “catatonic, desiccated calculating machine” ahead of the vote in the West Yorkshire seat.
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