‘The night time is the right time to fight crime’: BoJo aide Cummings quotes kids’ cartoon when pressed on govt business
Senior Boris Johson aide Dominic Cummings has left social media users baffled after he quoted a cartoon about crime-fighting child superheroes when a reporter asked him about the government approving a £100 billion rail project.
Cummings was doorstepped by a BBC journalist on Tuesday morning over the government’s decision to go ahead with the controversial HS2 high-speed rail project, as well as the PM’s anticipated cabinet reshuffle, when he inexplicably referenced the animated children’s series ‘PJ Masks.’
“The night time is the right time to fight crime,” he said. Then asked for a comment on the ministerial reshuffle, Cummings quipped: “PJ Masks will do a greater job than all of them put together.”
Dominic Cummings says "we need PJ Masks on the job" Asked for his response to the government's decision to go ahead with HS2, the PM's senior adviser channels the crime-fighting superheroes and says: "The night time is the right time to fight crime"https://t.co/62QwKDsUwNpic.twitter.com/2nw0PAZiV7
— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) February 11, 2020
Cummings had previously opposed the HS2 rail project, reportedly branding it a “disaster zone,” and Johnson’s decision to greenlight it has fueled speculation of Cummings’ influence at Number 10 waning. His apparently unrelated retort to political queries was soon trending on Twitter in the UK as social media users tried to make sense of the remarks.
Some jokingly backed his ‘approach’ to the cabinet reshuffle, with one person suggesting “Peppa Pig would be an improvement as Home Secretary.”
“Shaking up the system with PJ Masks!” another tweeter quipped. “This is the kind of fresh thinking we need in Westminster!”
For once I agree with him, PJ Masks would do a better job than this cabinet
— Gordon Watson (@GordonWatson61) February 11, 2020
PJ Masks episodes generally follow the plot that one of the team think they know better than the others when trying to solve a problem, often resulting in everything going tits up before realising it's better to work together to sort something out. Sounds like most governments...
— Rich (@MumblinScotsman) February 11, 2020
Others suggested that Cummings, who has a young son, had simply been watching too much childrens’ television before heading to work for the day – something fellow parents in particular could identify with.
I’ve never felt sympathy for Cummings before but there have been days when the only words I’ve been able to say are Chase is on the case or sing the PJ Masks theme tune.
— Willgoose (@willgoose) February 11, 2020
Meanwhile, a few diehard PJ Masks fans pointed out that Cummings actually got the quote slightly wrong.
Look, I think the key issue here is that Dominic Cummings misquoted the PJ Masks theme tune and should consider his position.
— Mic Wright (@brokenbottleboy) February 11, 2020
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