Piers Morgan and David Baddiel lead reactions to Dominic Cummings’ dramatic Downing Street exit

PM’s top advisor left No 10 carrying a cardboard box on Friday night

When Dominic Cummings exited Downing Street for good on Friday night (13 November), carrying a cardboard box of his belongings, Twitter went into disarray.

Boris Johnson’s top advisor was reportedly told to “never return” by the prime minister after a week of turmoil and bitter infighting, and a bizarre photo-op was staged with Cummings marching out of No 10.

Piers Morgan has led the celebrity reactions on social media, tweeting: “So, Boris Johnson didn't fire Dominic Cummings for breaking Lockdown rules, destroying public confidence & costing many lives. But he did fire him for briefing against his fiancée. #priorities.”

His tweet refers to reports that Johnson had accused Cummings of briefing against him and his partner Carrie Symonds.

A line in The Telegraph cites sources as saying that “Mr Johnson was particularly riled by newspaper reports of Ms Symonds being referred to by nicknames including ‘Princess nut nuts’ by Cummings loyalists”.

Actor Stephen Mangan quoted Frankenstein, writing: “Let’s not forget that Cummings is Gove’s creature and will presumably return to Gove’s lair to be tended to. ‘I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel…’”

Read more celebrity reactions below.

The departure brings down the curtain on Cummings’ extraordinary and controversial central role at the heart of power, after being credited as the campaign genius behind the Brexit referendum victory.