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The controversial No 10 strategist behind Boris Johnson’s hardball whipping tactics was said to have “stunk of booze” during a confrontation with Jeremy Corbyn at Westminster last night.

Shadow cabinet minister Cat Smith made the claim after a bizarre incident when the top Downing Street aide bumped into Labour’s leader in Portcullis House.

One witness said Dominic Cummings taunted Mr Corbyn over his refusal to agree immediately to a snap election, saying: “Come on Jeremy, let’s do this election, don’t be scared.” According to the witness Mr Corbyn was “bundled away by horrified aides”.

Labour MP Ms Smith commented on Twitter afterwards: “As one of several shadow cabinet members stood right next to Jeremy (who was on the phone at the time) I just thought there was some loud bloke who stunk of booze yelling at us.”

During the same evening, when emotions were running high on all sides over the mass rebellion by 21 senior Tories, Guardian journalist Peter Walker tweeted: “I just bumped into Dominic Cummings, who was clutching a glass of red wine and wandering along the parliamentary press corridor, lost and looking for a particular newspaper office. This is not a usual occurrence.”

A Downing Street spokesman declined to comment on Ms Smith’s tweet, which a government source dismissed as “claims from Labour designed to distract from their absurd position on ducking an election”.