Johnson stands by Cummings as police say his trip was ‘minor breach’
BORIS Johnson is standing by his chief aide Dominic Cummings despite the police saying they would have taken action if they had stopped him on his journey to Barnard Castle.
Amid mounting anger and plummeting poll ratings, Downing Street said the Prime Minister “regards this issue as closed” after Durham Constabulary said it did not intend to take “retrospective action”.
The police found that Mr Cummings may have committed “a minor breach” of coronavirus lockdown rules when he drove the 50-mile round trip to Barnard Castle to test his eyesight after it was affected by Covid-19.
However, the force said that had a police officer stopped the aide they would have “likely advised Mr Cummings to return to the address in Durham, providing advice on the dangers of travelling during the pandemic crisis”. The force said it did not consider Mr Cummings had committed an offence by locating himself at his father’s farm in Co Durham.
But it noted that it was concerned with breaches of the regulations, not the general government guidance to stay at home.
In its statement, the force said: “Durham Constabulary have examined the circumstances surrounding the journey to Barnard Castle — including ANPR (automatic number plate recognition), witness evidence and a review of Mr Cummings’ press conference on May 25, 2020 — and have concluded that there might have been a minor breach of the regulations that would have warranted police intervention.
“Durham Constabulary view this as minor because there was no apparent breach of social distancing.” Durham’s former chief constable Mike Barton said he believed the force statement used the word “might” in relation to Mr Cummings breaking the regulations as they could not be seen to be acting as judge and jury.
Raj Chada, head of the criminal defence department and a partner at firm Hodge Jones & Allen, said: “I interpret this statement as them saying that there is enough evidence to say that he breached the rules (but ultimately for a court to decide) but that it is not in the public interest to prosecute for the reasons that they say.”
A Number 10 spokesman said: “The police have made clear they are taking no action against Mr Cummings over his self-isolation and that going to Durham did not breach the regulations.
“The Prime Minister has said he believes Mr Cummings behaved reasonably and legally given all the circumstances and he regards this issue as closed.” In other developments:
l ONS figures suggest the average number of people with coronavirus in community settings in England remains “relatively stable”, though the infection rate among people working outside the home is around three times as high as for those working at home.
l Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced that people in Scotland will be able to meet one other household at a time outdoors from Friday as lockdown measures ease.
l The toll of deaths linked to the virus rose to almost 48,000, while at least 189 frontline health and care workers have died after contracting Covid-19.
Mr Johnson faced fresh cross-party calls for Mr Cummings to go in light of the police statement.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said Mr Johnson “should have drawn a line under the Dominic Cummings saga, but was too weak to act”. “The public have sacrificed so much for the health of our nation — which he’s now undermined. And sent a message that there’s one rule for them and another for the British people,” he wrote on Twitter.
And the SNP’S Westminster leader Ian Blackford added: “We now have confirmation from Durham Police that Mr Cummings broke the regulations — and we already know that he broke UK Government guidance. His position is completely untenable. This has become a question of Boris Johnson’s judgment and integrity.”
FORMER Secretary of State Karen Bradley has said she is “not convinced” by the account given by Boris Johnson’s adviser Dominic Cummings over his alleged lockdown breaches.
The Staffordshire Moorlands MP said: “I would like to thank the many, many people who have written to me about Mr Cummings and his actions and I want to assure you that I have every sympathy with you and your views.
“Over the last few weeks the British people have been asked to make the most enormous personal sacrifices. We have all done everything asked of us because we were told that doing so would save lives.”
She said she wanted to give Mr Cummings a chance to make his case before passing judgment and not rush to comment until hearing his account.
“Having done so, I am afraid that I am not convinced by his explanation,” she added. “I can well understand that any parent wants to protect their child and have enormous sympathy with acting to do that.
“But so much of the account goes beyond that simple human instinct and suggests that there were breaches of the rules to avoid some of the hardships that many have endured.”
Ms Bradley replaced James Brokenshire as Secretary of State from January 2018 until July last year when Boris Johnson became Prime Minister. He praised her for her work here, although she was widely viewed as ineffective.
Dozens of Tory MPS have called for Mr Cummings to resign or be sacked. However, current Secretary of State Brandon Lewis has given the PM and his special adviser his support.
Ms Bradley said she shared her constituents’ views on Mr Cummings at the “highest level”, adding: “Mr Cummings is, in my view, causing significant damage to the work that the Government are doing to get us through the pandemic.
“I can reach no other conclusion than that for the sake of this country, Mr Cummings should do the right thing now and stop damaging the work that needs to be done.”
❝ The public have sacrificed so much for the health of our nation ... which he’s undermined