Comment: Cummings lockdown row goes way beyond Westminster hysteria

The Prime Minister's senior aide is supposed to do his work behind the scenes, not stroll out into the spotlight to deliver a speech and get grilled by journalists.

The fact that it was deemed necessary for Mr Cummings to take this course of action shows that finally, Downing Street understood the consequences of the allegations against him.

That certainly did not appear to be the case on Sunday, when the PM insisted his good friend had acted "responsibly, legally and with integrity" when he took his family on a 260-mile road trip during the coronavirus lockdown.

The message to the watching public was effectively: "I believe he didn't do anything wrong – and so should you."

By the end of it, not a single question had been answered and no facts or details were forthcoming.

An issue that ministers were hoping could be nipped in the bud was instead, unequivocally blown up.

This was all the more startling considering that Number 10 is fully aware of the huge list of enemies Mr Cummings has built up in recent years.

His opponents range from the anti-Brexit brigade, who hold him responsible for orchestrating Britain’s departure from the EU, to civil servants and a fair few Tory politicians.

In short, he has a large target on his back, making the media frenzy that followed the allegations entirely predictable.

Instead, by the time Mr Cummings delivered his own explanation – which at the very least featured some facts about his movements, if not an expression of regret – the Government was firmly in damage limitation mode.

Clearly, this episode has shown that Mr Johnson has become reliant on Mr Cummings to the point where he is beyond reproach.

It remains to be seen how this plays out with the public, particularly at a time when people have more telling concerns about issues such as the reopening of schools and workplaces.

The majority of Conservative MPs are understandably desperate to draw a line under the controversy, pushing the message that Mr Cummings' version of events is acceptable and that the country needs to move on.

However, this row has gone way beyond the hysteria of political opponents and the national media, and the Government must realise that it has irked some of the very people Mr Johnson vowed to keep onside after December's general election win.

At that time the PM vowed to justify the support of those who had lent the Conservatives their votes, a pledge that resulted in a great deal of goodwill towards the Conservative Party.

He should now be concerned that the goodwill may be haemorrhaging fast.