Dominic Cummings prepares to step up to the podium

Less than an hour ago the Prime Minister announced that today the SPAD that everyone has been talking about will be making a statement and answering questions this afternoon.

Despite Johnson's attempt to clear his name, his favoured advisor has once again been receiving calls to quit. I welcome this the PM's announcement, as Cummings has hardly attempted to make his case. Hopefully this will provide an increased level of accountability to one of the UK's most powerful men.

Dominic Cummings is what is known as a 'spin doctor'. He is employed by the government in a role known as a Special Advisor (SPAD). He has been accredited with a certain level of success during recent political campaigns associated with Boris Johnson, such as the Vote Leave Campaign. Since July he has been Senior Advisor to the Prime Minister, a new position created by Johnson. Cummings is a hugely intelligent campaign strategist, and has been accredited with some very influential slogans, such as "Take back control", and most of course most ironically, "Stay home, Protect the NHS, Save lives".

Indeed this media storm could prove costly for the Prime Minister. He has been using the word "integrity" so much in recent months that now I can't help but laugh when he does. There is so much weight already against Cummings that it seems absurd for Johnson to continue to stand by him, but this tells us plenty about their relationship, and perhaps the balance of power. But it is hard to argue that this is not an abuse of power, but rather an attack of the Rule of Law, at a time that the law is so very restricting on the electorate. It seems to me that we should respect the Rule of Law now more than ever.

I would however go yet further than the calls of MPs and Labour. I would recommend the creation of a new parliamentary committee - one devoted purely to transparency of the SPADs inside Number 10. This should be chaired by a member of the opposition and should have extensive powers from the ability to call advisors to committee hearings and highly politically weighted recommendations.