Vote Leave chief attacks David Davis over Brexit 'shambles'
Dominic Cummings is urging Tory donors not to hand over any more money to the party while the Brexit Secretary remains in post.
Tuesday 19 September 2017 14:10, UK
The chief of the Vote Leave campaign has branded the Government's handling of Brexit a "shambles" as he blamed the "clueless" actions of David Davis.
Dominic Cummings, who was director of the official Brexit campaign during the EU referendum, called for a "reboot" of Downing Street and the Civil Service in order to cope with the "huge change" required by leaving the EU.
He urged Conservative donors not to hand over any more money to the party while the Brexit Secretary and head of the Civil Service, Sir Jeremy Heywood, remain in place.
In a series of Twitter posts, the former special adviser to Cabinet minister Michael Gove accused Mr Davis of triggering Article 50 without a plan or having prepared for the possibility of reaching no exit agreement with Brussels.
Mr Cummings suggested Mr Davis and fellow ministers had listened to "bull**** legal advice" over Article 50, the exit clause in EU treaty law, and been "led like lambs to slaughter" by Sir Jeremy.
He wrote: "The shambles now unfolding is a direct consequence of that historic unforgivable blunder."
Mr Cummings, who has now become a , suggested the "sooner" MPs realise where Mr Davis "has driven them, the sooner mitigation can begin".
Calling for an overhaul of how Downing Street works, he warned: "Until MPs face this, shambles will continue."
Mr Cummings worked closely with Mr Gove and Boris Johnson on the Vote Leave campaign, with his attack on Mr Davis coming just days after the .
The ex-Vote Leave boss compared Mr Davis's role in "cluelessly" triggering Article 50 and calling June's snap General Election with the "unprecedented electoral triumph" of Mr Gove and Mr Johnson.
He told Tory MPs to back the pair's approach to Brexit rather than that of Mr Davis and Chancellor Philip Hammond if they want to stop Labour winning the next election.
Despite his gloomy verdict on Brexit, Mr Cummings warned those wanting a second EU referendum that Leave would gain more than 60% support in a repeat vote.
He suggested there's "plenty more" campaign material such as Vote Leave's controversial claim that leaving the EU could see £350m per week extra spent on the NHS.
The Department for Exiting the EU told Sky News: "The British people voted to leave the EU in last year's referendum and we are delivering on that decision.
"With negotiations now underway, David Davis and the whole machinery of Government are working towards getting a deal that is in the best interests of the UK and EU."