Boris Johnson's former advisor Dominic Cummings faces official probe into post-government work

• EXCLUSIVE: Dominic Cummings faces a probe by the official lobbying watchdog into his activities since leaving office.
• UK government rules require former senior advisors to seek advice before taking up paid work after leaving office.
• Cummings has set up a paid Substack newsletter and offered himself as a management consultant.

Boris Johnson's former chief advisor, Dominic Cummings, faces a probe into his activities since leaving office after he failed to seek official advice before setting up a new paid-for Substack newsletter and offering his skills as a management consultant, Insider can reveal.

When Cummings was part of Johnson's government, he was one of the most powerful figures in the UK, guiding the government through the coronavirus pandemic. His effectiveness was reduced when he was caught breaking lockdown regulations in May 2020 by driving hundreds of miles to see his family in Durham. The apparent hypocrisy of that incident - when British people were asked to stay at home and not travel - lowered public confidence in the government's handling of the pandemic. He resigned as chief advisor to the prime minister in November 2020, after falling out with Johnson.

Since then Cummings has refashioned himself as a dissident and scourge outside the government, by using Substack to publicly leak damaging and gossipy information he gathered during his time by Johnson's side.

Now, the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments has written to Cummings to remind him he is required under government rules to seek their advice before taking up new employment for up to two years after leaving office.

ACOBA's guidance states that former special advisors "must not, at any time, draw on any privileged information gained in office" after leaving.

The guidance also states that individuals entering into a "longer-term arrangement" of speaking engagements, media appearances, and newspaper articles must consult ACOBA prior to taking up the work.

However, Cummings last month set up a Substack, which includes posts for subscribers only, charged at £10 a month, in which he has revealed communications he had with the prime minister.

Cummings' Substack posts have so far included leaked messages from Johnson calling Matt Hancock, the former Health Secretary, "f---ing hopeless"; and claims that Johnson "lies - so blatantly, so naturally, so regularly - that there is no real distinction possible with him, as there is with normal people, between truth and lies".

He's also offered himself as a management consultant where "fees slide from zero to lots depending on who you are / your project…"

Alistair Carmichael MP, the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Political & Constitutional Reform, told Insider: "Dominic Cummings did not care for the rule of law when he was in government so it's little surprise he has no care for it when he is outside of government and looking to make money in new and innovative ways.

"Presumably ACOBA was another form of constitutional accountability that Cummings would have torn down if only he had a little more time.

"Cummings clearly has contempt for ACOBA and the rules that the rest of us follow, just like his former boss Boris Johnson. Despite their current mutual enmity, when it comes to their corrosion of public life the two of them are all too alike."

A former senior government official previously told Insider: "It is little surprise that someone who's reported to have said a 'hard rain' was going to fall on Whitehall is ignoring the requirements the rest of us have to follow. And it's unlikely that much sleep will be lost at the prospect that a breach of the Business Appointment Rules could affect his chance of receiving an honour.

"Still, given he told the select committee 'there are all sorts of ways in which you could have greater transparency', it's strange he's not starting with his own post-government roles."

ACOBA's letter to Cummings, and any response from Cummings, is likely to be published next week.

Of Cummings' activities the Prime Minister's Official Spokesperson has previously said: "We expect all current and former advisors to act in full accordance with the special advisers' code of conduct".

The Cabinet Office is also reported to have looked at what actions might be taken against Cummings, the Financial Times reported.

Breaches of his employment contract were considered as one possible avenue, amid fears any actions could turn Cummings into a "martyr", according to Whitehall sources the Financial Times spoke to.

Following a request for comment by the Financial Times, Cummings tweeted: "Typical of government that internal discussions about employment contracts 'leak' to their inter-office mailing system (FT)..."

Insider has contacted Cummings for comment.