Dominic Cummings has accused the Prime Minister of wanting to embarrass senior Cabinet Ministers over their alleged drug use rather than seriously tackle the crisis in his latest attack on the Government.
In a tweet linking to an article about Afghanistan and the so-called War on Drugs, Boris Johnson’s ex-top aide compared Downing Street meetings on drugs policy to satirical Channel 4 series Brass Eye.
‘(Few mtngs (sic) I ever had in No10 were more Brass Eye than listening to Home Office plans for ‘crackdowns’ and ‘marketing campaigns’ + BJ’s desire to embarrass his Cabinet over their own drug use),’ he tweeted.
Brass Eye, a television parody which aired in 1997, sparked controversy by depicting the growing paranoia of life in modern Britain, and by fooling public figures into supporting fictitious charities and causes.
In an episode called Drugs, MP Sir David Amess was tricked into supporting an awareness campaign around a fictional killer drug from Prague called Cake, or ‘Czech Neck’. It was cancelled after just one series.
Mr Cummings presented no evidence for his incendiary allegations. His tweet on Wednesday morning is the latest in a string of attacks on the Government after he was dramatically sacked last year.
MailOnline has contacted Downing Street for comment.
Senior Tories have previously come under fire for their past drug use. Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove previously admitted to using cocaine when he was a young journalist working at The Times.
Dominic Cummings has accused the Prime Minister of wanting to embarrass senior Conservatives in the Cabinet over their alleged drug use rather than seriously tackling the issue
In a tweet linking to an article about Afghanistan and the so-called War on Drugs, Boris Johnson’s ex-top aide compared Downing Street meetings on drugs policy to satirical TV drama Brass
‘(Few mtngs (sic) I ever had in No10 were more Brass Eye than listening to Home Office plans for ‘crackdowns’ and ‘marketing campaigns’ + BJ’s desire to embarrass his Cabinet over their own drug use),’ he tweeted
In 2019, Mr Gove told the Mail he took drugs on several social occasions more than two decades ago, calling it ‘a mistake’.
‘I took drugs on several occasions at social events more than 20 years ago. At the time I was a young journalist. It was a mistake. I look back and I think, I wish I hadn’t done that,’ he said.
He made his admission ahead of publication of a book about him by political journalist Owen Bennett.
The book – Michael Gove: A Man in a Hurry – says the ex-Environment Secretary owned up to having used cocaine when he was being ‘put through his paces’ by advisers in the 2016 Tory leadership contest.
The startling admission came when he and the aides were trying to anticipate what questions he would face from the media.
An inside source said Mr Gove said ‘Yes, cocaine’ when asked if he had ever taken drugs.
‘Gove was instructed not to give that answer in public, and told to fall back on the words David Cameron had used when he was running for leader, namely that politicians are entitled to a private life before entering politics,’ the book says.
Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove previously admitted to using cocaine when he was a young journalist working at The Times
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab previously said he smoked cannabis as a student, adding he had not taken anything harder
In the event Mr Gove was never asked the question. Despite forcing Mr Johnson to pull out of the contest, Mr Gove withdrew after being beaten by Theresa May in the second round.
The drugs revelation came on the eve of the first round in the Tory leadership ballot of MPs and meant senior Tories battling to succeed Mrs May two years ago were grilled over their past drug use.
Mr Johnson joked that he may have snorted icing sugar on Have I Got News For You in 2005.
He later told GQ magazine in 2007: ‘I tried it at university and I remember it vividly. And it achieved no pharmacological, psychotropic or any other effect on me whatsoever.’
Asked about those previous comments in a 2008 interview, when he was standing for Mayor of London, Mr Johnson said: ‘Well, that was when I was 19. It all goes to show that, sometimes, it’s better not to say anything.’
Following that interview, Mr Johnson later said: ‘To say that I have taken cocaine is simply untrue.’
He added: ‘As I have said many times, I was once at university offered a white substance, none of which went up my nose and I have no idea whether it was cocaine or not.’
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab previously said he smoked cannabis as a student, adding he had not taken anything harder.
He said: ‘At university, I tried cannabis, not very often as I was into sport. It was a mistake, particularly the more I know now about the link between it and mental health issues.
‘But it was a long time ago and was particularly few and far between and I have never taken cocaine or any class A drugs.’
A source close to former Health Secretary Matt Hancock told The Telegraph in 2019 that he ‘tried cannabis a few times as a student but has not taken any illicit drugs since’ Oxford.
Chancellor Sajid Javid says he has not used drugs, and criticised those who take class A substances.
He told Sky News: ‘Anyone that takes class A drugs needs to think about that supply chain that comes, let’s say, from Colombia to Chelsea, and the number of lives that are destroyed along the way.’
Former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt admitted that he might have drunk a cannabis lassi while backpacking in India in his youth.
Rory Stewart, the former International Development Secretary, said he smoked opium at a wedding in Iran while travelling in the region more than 15 years ago, and apologised for taking the drug.
Former Tory leader Lord Hague recently called on Britain to decriminalise drugs and treat drug use as a health problem, claiming: ‘We will never suppress the supply of drugs while the demand goes on.’