TV presenter Lorraine Kelly has hit out at Dominic Cummings' "shameful" BBC interview, in which Boris Johnson's former aide made a series of allegations about his time at Downing Street.
Mr Cummings' claims in the hour-long broadcast included that the Prime Minister did not take the threat of coronavirus “seriously” in the early stages of the pandemic.
He also said he had to talk Mr Johnson out of going to see the Queen in-person only days before a national lockdown was ordered in March 2020, warning him he could give the monarch Covid-19 and kill her.
ITV presenter Kelly, who hosts morning show Lorraine, took to Twitter after the BBC interview, saying: "Cummings smirking virtually all the way through this interview was shameful and very very very annoying. What a disgraceful shambles. A parcel of rogues."
Outspoken presenter Piers Morgan, who quit ITV's Good Morning Britain earlier this year following a row over comments he made about the Duchess of Sussex, also shared his views on Twitter, posting a picture of Mr Cummings alongside Silence Of The Lambs villain Hannibal Lecter.
He said: "Who would you feel safer employing? #Psychos."
In Tuesday's BBC interview, Mr Cummings admitted he thought Mr Johnson being Prime Minister was “terrible for the country”.
Asked whether he was looking to “hasten” Mr Johnson’s departure from Downing Street, he said: “Certainly. The sooner he goes the better, for sure.”
He claimed Mr Johnson had argued in September as Covid cases were rising that it was mainly older people who were dying of the virus and that he “no longer bought all this NHS overwhelmed stuff”.
Downing Street said the Prime Minister had “taken the necessary action to protect lives and livelihoods, guided by the best scientific advice”.
Mr Cummings also said he helped broker a deal between Mr Johnson and Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove to become prime minister and chancellor respectively after the Brexit result.
Another revelation made by Mr Cummings was that he considered a coup against Mr Johnson only “days” after the 2019 poll – during which he had helped him secure one of the largest general election wins in decades – due to fears the Conservative Party leader’s then-girlfriend, Carrie Johnson, was trying to oust Vote Leave personnel.
He told the BBC: "Before even mid-January we were having meetings in Number 10 saying it’s clear that Carrie (Johnson) wants rid of all of us.
“At that point we were already saying by the summer either we’ll all have gone from here or we’ll be in the process of trying to get rid of him and get someone else in as prime minister.”
For more stories from where you live, visit InYourArea.
