Nicola Sturgeon said there was a “stench of sleaze” surrounding the government that was “becoming quite overpowering” as Boris Johnson faced fresh allegations of cronyism.
Dominic Cummings said the prime minister planned to fund a refurbishment of his Downing Street flat through Tory party donors, drawing accusations from Labour that Mr Johnson was acting like the head of a “tin-pot dictatorship”.
Former attorney general Dominic Grieve said it was quite clear the prime minister had received “a significant gift” towards the job and accused him of running No 10 as a “cronyistic cabal”.
In an explosive blog post, Mr Cummings, the prime minister’s former top aide, also claimed Mr Johnson sought to block an inquiry into the leak of plans for a second coronavirus lockdown in England.
Downing Street has denied the move, which Mr Cummings said came after Mr Johnson discovered the inquiry would implicate a close friend of his fiancee Carrie Symonds.
Mr Cummings, who the prime minister had a day earlier accused of "systematic leaking", said Mr Johnson had fallen "far below the standards of competence and integrity the country deserves".
Ms Sturgeon called for an inquiry into the numerous allegations of sleaze that have hit the government in recent weeks.
