London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Apr 09, 2026

Cummings to release ‘crucial document from Covid decision-making’

Cummings to release ‘crucial document from Covid decision-making’

Boris Johnson’s former senior adviser posts series of tweets relating to UK coronavirus strategy

Dominic Cummings has said he will release a key document on Covid decision-making in government when he appears in front of MPs next week as part of their inquiry into the handling of the pandemic.

The prime minister’s former senior adviser, who departed in December, has made it clear in recent months that he believes crucial mistakes were made in the early weeks of the pandemic, including on border closures and mask-wearing.

“I’ve got the only copy of a crucial historical document from Covid decision-making,” he tweeted, saying he could offer up the document for auction as a non-fungible token to raise money for the family of Covid victims.

In a later tweet, he said he would give the documents to the joint inquiry, which is being conducted by MPs on the Commons’ health select committee and the science and technology committee.

Cummings is due to appear before the committee next Wednesday, where he has said he will answer questions “for as long as MPs want”. He has also said he is prepared to submit private text messages to any Covid-19 inquiry.

No 10 said it would not comment on the disclosure threat. “I’m not going to speculate about what information individuals may or may not choose to present at committees,” Boris Johnson’s spokesman said.


Cummings has made a number of critical comments in recent days about mistakes the government made during the pandemic, including calling the UK’s borders policy “a joke”.

In a Twitter thread, he said that “political pundits” had spread a “tradeoff” argument between lockdown and economic recovery, saying that evidence was clear that “fast hard effective action [is] best policy for economy AND for reducing deaths/suffering”.

He said Westminster, across the spectrum, had been “totally hostile to learning from east Asia” including countries such as Taiwan.

He said it was based on “nonsense memes like ‘asians all do as they’re told, it won’t work here’. This is what many behavioural science ‘experts’/charlatans argued, disastrously, in February 2020. This nonsense is STILL influencing policy, eg our joke borders policy.”

Cummings suggested that half measures initially pursued by the government had been the worst of both worlds. “Pseudo ‘lockdowns’ [without] serious enforcement are hopeless: econ[omy] hit and people die anyway, nightmare rumbles on.”

He also suggested that the relative success of the UK’s vaccine taskforce and subsequent rollout of the vaccination programme had made the government complacent.

The government should have been willing to take even more risks on the vaccine programme than it did, he said, including immediate human challenge trials, which he said could have resulted in vaccines as early as last summer.

Cummings said he regretted how little public scrutiny of the government’s plans had been permitted, including its vaccine programme and meetings with scientific advisers.

“I can think of no significant element of Covid response that would not have been improved by discarding secrecy and opening up,” he tweeted.

“Who is writing the plan for ‘how we deal with something worse than covid?’ If we get this right now, we do not need to have this sort of disaster again…. The covid plan was supposed to be ‘world class’ but turned out to be part disaster, part non-existent. I urged inside government to do a review of other contingency plans for more dangerous things than covid.

“MPs [should] force publication of vaccine/variant plan & require mostly open review of other contingency plans before we find out the hard way they’re as ‘world class’ as the covid plan.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Meghan Markle’s Planned Australia Appearance Sparks Fresh Speculation
Starmer Warns Sustained Effort Needed to Ensure US–Iran Ceasefire Holds
UK to Partner with Shipping Industry to Rebuild Confidence in Strait of Hormuz, Cooper Says
UK Interest Rate Expectations Ease Following US–Iran Ceasefire Agreement
Starmer Signals Major Effort Needed to Fully Reopen Strait of Hormuz During Gulf Visit
UK Fuel Prices Face Ongoing Volatility Amid Global Pressures and Domestic Factors
Kanye West’s Planned Italy Festival Appearance Draws Debate After UK Entry Ban
Smuggling Routes Shift Toward Belgium as Migrant Crossings to UK Evolve
Ceasefire Offers Potential Relief for UK Fuel and Food Prices Amid Ongoing Uncertainty
Iran Conflict Raises Questions Over UK’s Global Influence and Military Preparedness
Senator McConnell Visits Kentucky to Highlight Federal Investment in Local Projects
Kanye West Barred from Entering UK as Legal Grounds Come into Focus
UK Denies Visa to Kanye West After Sponsors Withdraw from Wireless Festival
Trump-Era Forest Service Restructuring Leads to Closure of UK Lab Focused on Kentucky Woodland Health
Foreign Students in the UK Describe Harsh Living Conditions and Financial Pressures
Reform UK Proposes Visa Restrictions on Nations Pursuing Reparations Claims
Public Reaction Divides Over UK Decision to Bar Kanye West
Calls Grow for UK to Review US Base Access Following Concerns Over Escalating Rhetoric
UK Indicates It Will Not Permit Use of Its Bases for Potential US Strikes on Iran’s Energy Infrastructure
UK Prime Minister Defends Decision to Bar Kanye West, Questions Festival Booking
UK Accelerates Efforts to Harmonise Medical Technology Rules with United States
Wireless Festival Cancelled After Kanye West Denied Entry to the United Kingdom
Australia’s most decorated living soldier was arrested at Sydney Airport and charged with five counts of war-crime murder for the killing of unarmed Afghan civilians
The CIA’s Secret Technology That Can Find You by Your Heartbeat Successfully Locates Downed Airman
Operation Europe: Trump Deploys Vance to Hungary to Save the EU
King Charles Faces Criticism From Some UK Christians Over Absence of Easter Message
Former UK Defence Secretary Raises Concerns Over Ability to Counter Iran Missile Threat
UK Signals Non-Involvement in Iran Conflict as Trump Reasserts Firm Deterrence Stance
US and UK Strengthen Medical Device Cooperation Following Tariff Removal
Trump Backs Steve Hilton for California Governor, Highlighting Reform Agenda
UK Seeks Closer Ties With Anthropic as AI Policy Divergence Emerges Across Atlantic
Experts Warn of Evolving Extremism After Teens Arrested in UK Ambulance Arson Case
UK Convenes Talks to Safeguard Shipping Through Strait of Hormuz After Conflict Escalation
Trump Highlights Strong Leadership in Critique of UK Stance on Iran
UK Authorities Review Kanye West’s Entry Status Following Festival Backlash
UK Considers Deploying Aircraft Carrier for US Independence Day Celebrations Amid Renewed Transatlantic Focus
United Kingdom Moves to Attract AI Firm Anthropic Amid Tensions with US Defense Officials
RAF Intercepts Iranian Drones in Middle East to Defend Allied Security Interests
Labour Signals Shift on Foie Gras and Fur Restrictions to Advance EU Trade Talks
Seven Arrested Near RAF Base as UK Authorities Respond to Protest Activity
Economic Pressures Mount as Analysts Warn UK Growth Is Being Constrained by Policy Burdens
UK Green Party’s Push for Church-State Separation Sparks Debate Over National Identity
Strategic Island Emerges as Growing Challenge for United States and United Kingdom Defense Planning
Pepsi Pulls Sponsorship from UK Festival Following Backlash Linked to Kanye West
Signs Emerge of Declining Enthusiasm for Social Media in the United Kingdom
Security Alert Raised Ahead of Meghan Markle’s Planned Visit to Australia
UK Food Halls Defy Hospitality Slowdown, Emerging as Bright Spot in Challenging Market
UK Sets Firm Conditions for Military Action, Insisting on Legal Mandate and Clear Strategy
UK Medicines Regulator Launches Probe into Peptide Clinics Over Health Claims
New North Sea Drilling Unlikely to Significantly Cut UK Gas Imports, Analysis Finds
×