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Dominic Cummings has been seen for the first time since he left Downing Street after leaving his role as top adviser to the prime minister.
The former senior advisor emerged from the basement of his Islington home on Saturday afternoon before getting into a waiting car.
He refused to answer journalists’ questions outside his home after leaving 10 Downing Street on Friday night with a cardboard box of his belongings.
Dominic Cummings was seen leaving Downing Street with a box of his belongings
The prime minister’s right-hand man drastically stepped down from office after a power struggle that has rocked the administration ahead of crucial Brexit talks with Brussels ahead of the December 31 transition period deadline.
Lee Cain, a fellow Cummings veteran on Vote Leave, resigned as head of communications for Number 10 hours before the controversial advisor’s departure.
Both are believed to continue working until mid-December, but will be working from home, with reports suggesting that Cummings will be working on massive tests.
The Daily Telegraph reported that Cummings told colleagues that Johnson was “undecided” and that he and Cain relied on Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove for clarity.
Tensions are believed to have escalated further after the prime minister’s fiancee Carrie Symonds showed him informative “hostile texts” against her that had been sent to her.
Several Conservative MPs have urged Number 10 to use this as an opportunity to restore several important values within the party.
Dominic Cummings (L) and Lee Cain (R) left their roles in Downing Street on Friday.
Conservative MP Sir Bernard Jenkin said it was time to restore “respect, integrity and trust” in the relationship, elements that “had been lacking in recent months.”
Sir Edward Lister, who was London’s deputy mayor for politics under Johnson, has been appointed interim chief of staff pending a permanent appointment.
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The prime minister’s official spokesman, James Slack, who will replace Cain in the new year, insisted that Johnson would not be distracted by the dispute.
“What the prime minister and the government are focused on is taking all possible steps for this country to overcome the coronavirus pandemic,” he said.
