Dominic Cummings' wife Mary Wakefield reveals he was so ill with coronavirus he should have gone to hospital because of his struggle to breathe - as Boris Johnson's top aide also talks of his 'sticky' time spent in isolation at home

  • Boris Johnson's chief of staff wrote about lockdown in the Spectator  magazine
  • He spent a fortnight at home with wife Mary and their son Alexander while ill 
  • Revealed he enjoyed listening to them 'discuss what the birds are thinking'
  • Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19

By David Wilcock, Whitehall Correspondent For Mailonline

Published: | Updated:

Boris Johnson's Downing Street fixer Dominic Cummings was so struck down by  coronavirus that he should have gone to hospital, his wife revealed today.

Journalist Mary Wakefield revealed that Mr Cummings, 48, spent 10 days bedridden with the disease after coming home to nurse her through a milder case.

Writing in the Spectator she spoke of how her 'extremely kind' husband struggled to breathe while at home in London with her and their four-year-old son Alex.

It came as Mr Cummings also gave his own short account of their time together in isolation, branding it 'sticky' - but in reference to the London home being 'covered in a layer of spilt Ribena, honey, peanut butter and playschool glue'.

Mr Cummings spend 14 days off work, twice the usual period of quarantine, sparking questions about his health. But No 10 throughout  insisted he was 'in contact' with staff in Downing Street. 

However, in her account, Ms Wakefield showed how serious his situation was. 

'Day in, day out for ten days he lay doggo with a high fever and spasms that made the muscles lump and twitch in his legs. He could breathe, but only in a limited, shallow way,' she wrote.

'After a week, we reached peak corona uncertainty. Day six is a turning point, I was told: that’s when you either get better or head for ICU. 

'But was Dom fighting off the bug or was he heading for a ventilator? Who knew? I sat on his bed staring at his chest, trying to count his breaths per minute. 

'The little oxygen reader we’d bought on Amazon indicated that he should be in hospital, but his lips weren’t blue and he could talk in full sentences, such as: "Please stop staring at my chest, sweetheart."’

Mr Cummings with his wife Mary outside their London home last year, after he had begun working for Mr Johnson

Mr Cummings with his wife Mary outside their London home last year, after he had begun working for Mr Johnson

Mr Cummings arriving at No 10 this morning for the daily Covid-19 meeting.

Mr Cummings arriving at No 10 this morning for the daily Covid-19 meeting.

The couple married in 2011. Mary is a journalist for the Spectator and the daughter of Sir Humphry Tyrrell Wakefield, owner of Chillingham Castle and a friend of Prince Philip.

The Prime Minister's chief of staff was confirmed by No 10 as self-isolating with coronavirus-type symptoms on March 30, three days after Mr Johnson himself went into self-isolation.

But he took a fortnight away from No 10, sparking fears over his health at a time when the Prime Minister was hospitalised.

Advice for those with symptoms is to isolate for seven days, with a 14-isolation for those around them.

Downing Street has insisted he has been working from home in the intervening period, but would not elaborate on his condition. 

Asked at about the apparent contradiction between Ms Wakefield's account of Mr Cummings' illness and Downing Street's breezy assertion that it was not serious, the Prime Minister's official spokesman today said: 'All we ever said was that he was in contact and that was the case.' 

The No 10 aide and Vote Leave mastermind used his own artcle in the Spectator to present his interpretation of his self-isolation.

He was among a host of Tory figures asked to describe their coronavirus experience living with writers for the Conservative bible for this week's edition. 

He said his wife 'made a castle out of polystyrene and cardboard; she pretends it’s for our son, but it isn’t'. 

And in a glimpse into his own personality, he added: 'I have to talk a lot more at work than I like — I like quiet. 

'Being with Mary in lockdown means I think I am talking all day and Mary thinks she’s starved of conversation. 

'But I like listening to her and our four-year-old. They bicker like an old married couple and discuss what the birds are thinking.'

Downing StreetBoris JohnsonDominic Cummings

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