I can see how the conversation went:
Senior Downing Street source: 'Put this on the front page will you'.
Mail on Sunday political editor: 'Right you are, Dom'.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8372911/Boris-puts-Dominic-Cummings-chance-one-witness-admits-sighting-aide.html
But really, this shows just how quickly the fanatics in government have managed to embed the practice of denunciation in everyday behaviour by creating an atmosphere of fear and paranoia. I could hear the Stalinist applause when Hancock announced that squealing was now a 'civic duty', one to be enforced with a financial penalty if we didn't 'behave'.
Expect a compulsory online 'Naming Names' beginners' course for dissenters, followed by 'Intermediate Informing', and maybe an 'Advanced Narking' option for those who've found their metier. And for the younger dobbers, there'll be 'Gruffalo Grasses up the Mouse', 'How to Train Your Snitch', and 'Harry Potter and the Perfect Peach'.
‘
What worries me at present is the uncertainty as to whether the ordinary people in countries like England grasp the difference between democracy and despotism well enough to want to defend their liberties. One can’t tell until they see themselves menaced in some quite unmistakeable manner.' Orwell