What the papers say – May 25

The crisis at No 10 over Dominic Cummings and Boris Johnson dominate the nation’s papers on Monday.

Dominic Cummings’ flouting of lockdown guidelines and Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s defence of his chief adviser lead the papers on Monday.

The left-leaning Daily Mirror leads the attack on the pair, labelling Mr Cummings a “cheat” and Mr Johnson a “coward”.

And the normally right-leaning Daily Mail has also turned a blowtorch on the PM and Mr Cummings, with a front page headline of: “What planet are they on?”

The Independent puts the spotlight on Mr Johnson’s lack of answers at his press briefing, which helped leave “a party divided and voters angry”.

The i leads on the “chaos in No 10”, saying Mr Cummings is clinging to his position with Mr Johnson’s support.

And The Guardian says Mr Johnson has risked his political reputation by defending Mr Cummings.

Meanwhile, the Daily Express plays a straighter bat, with a headline of: “Defiant Boris stands by his man.”

The Daily Telegraph follows Mr Johnson’s line, its headline quoting the PM saying Mr Cummings had acted “responsibly, legally and with integrity”.

The Times takes a similar approach, citing the PM’s insistence Mr Cummings had “acted like any father”.

And The Sun focuses on the planned reopening of schools, while noting Mr Johnson had defied calls to sack Mr Cummings.

The Financial Times runs a photo of Mr Cummings and notes he has the PM’s support, above its lead story focusing on the Treasury’s economic bail-out plan.

And the Daily Star leads on controversy surrounding TV host Jeremy Kyle.