UK PM Johnson backs key aide over ‘lockdown breach’
LONDON: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Sunday defied pressure from within his own party and backed top aide Dominic Cummings over allegations he breached coronavirus lockdown rules.
Mr Cummings has been a highly divisive figure in British politics since masterminding the successful 2016 Brexit campaign alongside Mr Johnson.
But Mr Johnson rejected calls to sack him after he came under fire for travelling across the country with his wife while she was suffering from symptoms of the disease when the official advice was to isolate at home.
Mr Johnson said during Sunday’s news briefing he believed Mr Cummings “acted responsibly and legally and with integrity” after the pair held crisis talks.
“I’ve concluded that in travelling to find the right kind of childcare at the moment when both he and his wife were about to be incapacitated by coronavirus, and when he had no alternative, I think he followed the instincts of every father and every parent,” he added.
Mr Cummings was seen with his son close to his parents’ home in Durham, northeastern England, more than 400km away from his London home on March 31, the day after he himself reported suffering symptoms.
The Observer and Sunday Mirror reported that he had broken lockdown restrictions again and was seen in Durham a second time on April 19, days after he had returned to work in
London following his first trip north.
A named witness told the newspapers that Mr Cummings was also spotted in the town of Barnard Castle, 30km from Durham, on April 12. That witness, convinced it was Mr Cummings, filed a complaint with police for a possible breach of the lockdown rules.
Mr Cummings denied the latest claims, which have caused a public outcry, particularly among people who avoided contact with elderly relatives, some of whom died of the virus.
Mr Johnson also announced that primary schools in England are to reopen for some pupils from June 1 as part of the next stage of easing restrictions.
The school announcement, however, was overshadowed by the continuing row over Mr Cummings.
After Mr Johnson’s statement, the British Civil Service Twitter account posted: “Arrogant and offensive. Can you imagine having to work with these truth twisters?”
It was later deleted and a tweet from the Cabinet Office said it was “unauthorised” and they were investigating.
Yesterday’s headline on the front page of The Guardian read: “No apology, no explanation: PM bets all on Cummings.”
Even the Daily Mail criticised the government: “What planet are they on?” it asked.
Mr Cummings also denied reports in The Guardian that police had spoken directly to him or his family about a tipoff they received on March 31 that he was in Durham.