Dominic Cummings blames MPs for invitation ‘farce’ after he is found in contempt of Parliament for failing to appear before Commons committee

Vote Leave campaign chief Dominic Cummings was today found in contempt of Parliament for failing to appear before MPs to answer questions.

The Commons Privileges Committee said Mr Cummings — played by Benedict Cumberbatch in a Channel 4 TV drama — caused “significant interference” in the work of an official parliamentary inquiry and recommended a formal “admonishment” for his conduct.

The ruling follows attempts by the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee to question Mr Cummings as part of an inquiry into fake news, amid claims Vote Leave used data lifted from Facebook accounts.

Writing on his blog, Mr Cummings blamed MPs for the “farce” over his invitation to speak.

“I agreed in early September 2018 but said that WE SHOULD ALL BE UNDER OATH TO TELL THE TRUTH,” he wrote. “They went dark for months until just before Christmas then replied that No, they didn’t want to promise to tell the truth and sadly they weren’t able to make such a promise(!) but would I come anyway.”

Mr Cummings claimed: “They cancelled the hearing in January and declined to reschedule it. After another 9 months of occasional emails, they’ve decided they don’t want to speak to me after all.”