Dominic Cummings today returned to face a select committee for the first time since his fiery clash with Andrew Tyrie five years ago. Cummings — who was found in contempt of parliament for refusing to appear in 2018 — is up this morning before the Science and Technology panel of MPs. It is the first time the former No. 10 adviser has made public comments about his time in Government since leaving Downing Street in November.
The subject of discussion is ARIA — the new £800 million Advanced Research and Invention Agency he championed in government which aims to fund ‘high-risk, high-reward’ inventions. MPs broadly stuck to the issue in hand, allowing Cummings to explain the successes of the US agency DARPA on which ARIA is based. Asked by Labour’s Dawn Butler if he would stay involved in the project, Cummings confirmed: ‘I won’t be involved. I’m not seeking to be involved. I don’t want to be involved.’
Butler also took the chance to raise the issue of Cummings’s reported £45,000 pay rise after the coronavirus pandemic began.
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