OUTRAGE is the new buzzword it would seem because we are all apparently fuming about something and must be listened to via social media.

This week’s hot topic is Dominic Cummings, currently the most hated man in Great Britain.

Now, for a clearly intelligent man, Boris Johnson’s right-hand sage was incredibly stupid when he elected to drive to his parents’ farm in Durham from his London home amidst the nationwide lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. Getting found out made matters even worse.

Naturally, there was a media frenzy and Twitter users went suitably bonkers.

The message was clear... Cummings must go.

However, there was a fly in the ointment. Our Dom has absolutely no intention of going anywhere unless he is planning a return trip to Durham.

The PM clearly has no plans to dispense with Cummings’ services either. After all, the two of them were largely responsible for orchestrating the strategy which culminated in Great Britain exiting the European Union when David Cameron rashly took on the pro-Brexit brigade by holding the referendum in 2016.

Subsequently, while Cameron’s successor Theresa May dithered Johnson, aided and abetted by Cummings, was decisive.

It was a decision that made both of them big players on the political scene in this country and directly led to Johnson succeeding May as both Conservative party leader and Prime Minister.

On the day that Johnson first entered Number 10 Downing Street there, in the background, was Cummings, dishevelled as ever and seemingly showing no interest in proceedings as the new Prime Minister soaked up the rapturous applause.

Few people outside Westminster knew who the hell he was but they sure do now.

As the crisis hit once his Durham visit became public knowledge, Cummings found himself reluctantly cast into the spotlight to the extent that one of the most feared men in politics had no option but to go public.

Not many of us had heard him speak and not many more even knew what he looked like, but suddenly it was announced he would be hosting a press conference in Downing Street’s Rose Garden at 4pm sharp. So, we all tuned in but there was no sign of Cummings as the tension mounted.

But then, after what seemed like an eternity, he emerged, blinking in the sunlight, looking like a tortoise without a shell. Small in stature, bald and wearing a crumpled white shirt which clearly had never had close contact with an iron.

With the full glare of publicity focused solely on him, the supposed Devil incarnate was hesitant, fiddling with the sheaf of papers which contained his pre-prepared statement in front of him.

He nervously sipped from a glass of water, clearly hating every moment of what promised to be a very public interrogation from the likes of heavyweight political correspondents Laura Kuenssberg and Robert Peston in the immediate aftermath.

Whether you believed what he said in terms of an explanation is largely immaterial because, no matter what, Cummings will survive the scrutiny regardless.

There was no regret and no apology which is invariably the case with arrogant men. They become impervious to criticism, no matter how fierce.

Also, for all his faults, Boris Johnson is loyal to those who can help him achieve his vision for Britain and Cummings is key to that.

If I were a betting man I would say the chances of Cummings either being sacked or resigning are between slim and none and slim has just left town.

But ultimately who are we to judge? Take a walk to the seafront in Brighton and Hove on a given hot day and there is an almost total lack of social distancing as the rules are continuously flouted.

Indeed, there is even a “mass gathering” protest planned at The Level this weekend against the Government’s lockdown, claiming it infringes our personal freedom to choose how we live our lives.

This is the type of hypocrisy we now face. Trial by Twitter with Cummings the current villain of the piece.

It will blow over because next week someone else will be in the firing line on social media. It is the nature of the beast.

But the reason the Devil has all the best tunes is because, as the Bible tells us, he is far from perfect. That can only mean one thing in 21st century Britain... Dominic Cummings must have one hell of a playlist on Spotify.