Boris Johnson’s former chief advisor Dominic Cummings broke government rules with Substack blog

Boris Johnson’s former chief advisor Dominic Cummings broke government rules with Substack blog

Dominic Cummings, Boris Johnson's former chief advisor, breached government rules by failing to seek official advice before starting a Substack newsletter for which he charges £10 a month. Lord Eric Pickles, the chair of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA), slammed Cummings for failing to seek advice from ACOBA before starting the "commercial undertaking". ACOBA had written to Cummings last Wednesday. In a letter to Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove, published on Monday, Pickles writes: "Mr Cummings has failed to seek the Committee's advice on this commercial undertaking, nor has the Committee received the courtesy of a reply to our letter requesting an explanation. "Failure to seek and await advice before taking up work is a breach of the government's Rules." Under the Business Appointment Rules, former senior advisors and ministers must seek advice from ACOBA before taking up new roles for two years after leaving office. Pickles says that while he understands "Cummings has made an application via the Cabinet Office to the Committee for consideration", ACOBA will not be issuing retrospective advice on the matter. "It is now a matter for the government to decide what appropriate action to take," Pickles told Gove. But it is unclear