Dominic Cummings isn’t bluffing – he’s ‘deadly serious’ about no-deal Brexit, say former colleagues The adviser believes faith in politics can get a lot worse – and Brexit must be delivered to stave off populism

MPs who believe the Prime Minister’s most senior adviser Dominic Cummings is bluffing when it comes to a no-deal Brexit must think again, according to those who have worked closest with him.

i has spoken to former colleagues who worked in hand-in-glove with Mr Cummings over several years, and they believe Boris Johnson’s de facto chief of staff is “deadly serious” when it comes to leaving the European Union without a deal.

Mr Johnson surprised Whitehall when he appointed the 47-year-old to run Downing Street’s Brexit strategy, reuniting the Vote Leave team that successfully secured a majority in the 2016 EU referendum. Since arriving, Mr Cummings has swiftly imposed his influence on Number 10, pushing the message that the Government will deliver Brexit “by any means necessary”.

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This has led to accusations from former Cabinet ministers that he is willing to trigger the “gravest” constitutional crisis since the Civil War in order to orchestrate the UK’s European departure. And former colleagues warned any MPs who believe Mr Cummings is not serious about his threats should reconsider.

“Dom wants to get a deal and this is a calculation to try and extract a better deal from the EU, but he is deadly serious when he says we are leaving with or without an agreement on 31 October. I promise you he is not bluffing,” the source said.

“He believes that people’s trust in politics is already at an ultimate low but if people think it can’t get any lower they’re totally wrong. Dom believes there will be huge issues if Brexit does not happen. That there will be far-reaching problems in the shape of a further rise of far-right populism.”

Among the plans being considered by Downing Street to ensure Brexit happens is to force a general election in the wake of a vote of no confidence and allow the country to drop out of the EU while Parliament is suspended during an election campaign.

Boris Johnson’s future relies on Brexit

The move would prove hugely controversial and is being branded an “undemocratic abuse of power” by Labour, but any suggestions that Mr Johnson is not fully signed up to Mr Cummings’s is misguided.

“Dom’s approach is the only way to either get a deal or deliver Brexit. Boris’s political future relies on this,” the ally side.

“There are people who don’t believe we should leave the EU, that staying in is the best solution. Thankfully the UK doesn’t have a far-right presence on a scale that most other European countries have, such as Marine Le Pen in France, but it will if Brexit does not happen. It’s the fastest way to seeing Nigel Farage as PM.”