In an even more ridiculous twist to the ‘Cummings is on SAGE’ brouhaha, Bloomberg is now reporting that “according to two people involved, Cummings played far more than a bystander’s role”, when attending meetings of the scientific advisory body, asking tough questions of the Government scientists. Important for a senior adviser to engage with the scientists…

The news, however, that will infuriate the conspiracy theorists who revelled in last week’s Guardian story about Cummings being ‘on’ the committee, is that he was the voice asking “why a lockdown was not being imposed sooner”. This corroborates with what Number 10 insiders have reported the Prime Minister’s senior adviser’s attitude to have been through most of this pandemic. And it’s exactly the sort of questions that left-wing media were retrospectively insisting should have been asked…

Bloomberg’s SAGE sources reveal that Cummings in fact “swayed the discussion toward faster action, and made clear he thought pubs and restaurants should be closed within two days.” Much of the media has been screaming (in hindsight) that the govenment was too slow to go into lockdown. Expect a media meltdown when they realise they’ve been on Cummings’ side of the argument rather than that of the SAGE scientists all this time…