Have I Got News For You viewers and a number of celebrity fans have praised Ian Hislop’s roasting of Dominic Cummings on this week’s show.
Friday’s episode of the current affairs-based comedy quiz show included a monologue from the journalist and broadcaster about Boris Johnson’s chief advisor and his rather loose interpretation of lockdown rules.
Speaking about Cummings’s bizarre press conference on the controversy, Hislop said: “He gave an hour and a half of utter twoddle. It’s absolutely clear he did break regulations.
“He found one tiny clause which he said made an exception, but that didn’t cover the journey to Barnard Castle, it was nonsense, absolute nonsense.”
He continued: “People were cross because they think he’s taking us for idiots. The eye test thing is marvellous, the idea you’re not sure whether you can drive back to London, so in order to check your eyesight you put your four year old in the back of the car and drive around to see if you knock over any pedestrians or smack into a bollard, and that way you know your eyes aren’t there.
“His greatest irritation is, he said at the beginning, ‘The press are giving misinformation about my whereabouts.’ That’s his job. He got his wife to write pieces in The Spectator suggesting he was in London, which he wasn’t.
“So he’s very, very cross. This man has become the centre of the story. I cannot understand why he hasn’t resigned.”
Many fans of the show took to Twitter to praise Hislop’s “roasting” of Cummings, including Good Morning Britain presenter Piers Morgan.
“Enjoying Ian Hislop absolutely lacerating Dominic Cummings on HIGNFY,” tweeted Piers Morgan. “There, I’ve said it.”
Actor Kathy Burke added: “Prime Minister Dominic Cummings was brilliantly roasted on HIGNFY tonight. Ian Hislop was pitch perfect.”
Many viewers were in agreement...
More than 1 million people have now signed a petition calling for Cummings to be sacked over allegedly breaching the lockdown rules.
The prime minister has stood by his adviser, triggering a revolt of dozens of Tory MPs and a sharp decline in personal and party poll ratings.
Watch this week’s episode of Have I Got News For You in full in the video below.