DOWNING Street bigwigs fear axed aide Dominic Cummings will publish WhatsApp group texts exposing chaos at the heart of No.10’s Covid battle.
Aides fear the “Sword of Dom-ocles” hangs over them and the PM — with Cummings ready to reveal the tell-all messages if they criticise him too much.
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Boris Johnson is at war with the former adviser over leaks and reckons he is behind stories revealing he spent £58,000 on a makeover of his Downing Street flat.
No.10 appeared to admit last night that Mr Johnson has maxed out the £30,000 every PM gets each year to keep the flat in good nick.
He is understood then to have asked Tory donors for a loan to meet further costs.
The PM, his bank stretched after a costly divorce, is said to have been loaned tens of thousands.
One Whitehall insider said: “Everyone is worried about going too hard on Dom in case he drags them in too.
“Some very senior people are scrolling back through their phones wondering if they are in trouble.”
MP Therese Coffey urged people to recall the ex aide’s Barnard Castle lockdown drive to “test his eyesight” before accepting his word.
Mr Johnson, meanwhile, was facing a growing pressure to go public with his No.10 digs spending.
He has so far refused to lodge details in Commons anti-sleaze registers and faces suspension if he fails to do so within 28 days.
Instead, he plans to give details only to an annual round-up of ministers interests — a rulebook of which he is the final judge.
Dr Hannah White, of the Institute for Government, said it was highly “unusual” for a PM to be caught in “cash for wallpaper” scandal.
She said: “I can’t think of any example of a political party lending money for personal use.”
Former Whitehall boss Lord Gus O’Donnell said: “Prime Ministers have to set an example. They should abide by the rules.”
A No.10 spokeswoman said the PM paid costs towards refurbishment beyond those provided in his annual allowance and denied that Tory Party funds were used.
Meanwhile, ministers were given 14 days to come clean about how they use messaging apps or be served with a High Court challenge.
Campaign group Foxglove, said: “It seems every lobbyist and would-be crony has sussed how this government really runs: by instant message.
That’s a recipe for cover-ups – and it’s unlawful.”
