PM Johnson’s top aide Cummings has ‘no regrets’ over breach of Covid-19 lockdown
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s top aide has refused to apologise for taking a 420-kilometre trip with his wife and young son despite Britain being on lockdown because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Dominic Cummings said he would not resign and had “no regrets” about his decision to travel from London to his parents’ home in County Durham in the north of England in March.
Yesterday, Mr Cummings said he made the trip because he was worried that he and his wife were infected with Covid-19 and there would be no one to look after his son in London.
Mr Cummings said he wanted to go to his parents’ home to make sure there would be relatives around should he fall ill.
Reports of his trip have provoked anger from across the political and public spectrum as it appeared to be a flagrant breach of the UK government’s stay-at-home rules.
In a rare move for a political adviser, Mr Cummings held a press conference yesterday to address the situation, saying he had not considered resigning despite public outrage.
He suggested he used a loophole in the lockdown rules concerning “exceptional circumstances” over the care of children that meant he had not breached regulations.
He said he did not to tell Mr Johnson about the trip before leaving London.
Mr Cummings said he studied the guidance and believed he was acting “reasonably” and within the law. But he said he regretted that he had not given a statement on the matter earlier.
“I don’t think I am so different and that it is one rule for me and one rule for other people,” he said at a press conference held in the garden at No 10 Downing Street.
Mr Johnson has been drawn directly into the furore, holding a press conference on Sunday during which he refused to sack his aide.
Several Cabinet ministers made media appearances in which they stated Mr Cummings
had not broken the rules. But the decision to keep him in his post has been widely condemned by politicians, including members of the ruling Conservative Party, and members of the public who have obeyed the country’s lockdown rules.
Healthcare workers, scientists and people with family members who died during the pandemic have led a popular backlash against Mr Cummings, saying his decision to travel “broke the spirit” of the orders.
Dr Dominic Pimenta, a cardiologist who works for Britain’s National Health Service, tweeted a picture of himself in full protective equipment, saying he had not visited his parents since January because of the lockdown rules.
“Frankly, Cummings spits in the face of all our efforts, the whole NHS. If he doesn’t resign, I will,” Dr Pimenta said.
His anger was shared across various social media platforms, with users accusing the government of endorsing one rule for officials and another for the rest of the country.
Senior police officers have also expressed concern over Mr Johnson’s refusal to sack Mr Cummings, saying it will be much more difficult to enforce emergency coronavirus laws enacted in March.
On Sunday, Mr Cummings faced a hostile crowd outside his London home, with neighbours shouting “hypocrite” at him from their windows. He walked past protesters who complained angrily about not being able to visit ill or dying relatives in hospital because of travel restrictions imposed because of the outbreak.
Despite the bitter public reaction to reports of Mr Cummings’ trip, Mr Johnson said his chief adviser would remain in his post.
The men held a lengthy meeting before Mr Johnson faced the media on Sunday.
“I’ve concluded that in travelling to find the right kind of childcare at the moment when 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, and I do not mark him down for that,” Mr Johnson said on Sunday.
Westminster insiders said they believed the government would ride out the storm hoping the anger would blow over.
A series of announcements about lifting lockdown measures will be made in the coming days and could draw attention away from Mr Cummings.
“The PM will find it very difficult to sack Cummings because essentially it’s his government,” a Whitehall source said. “They simply cannot afford to lose him but there’s still a lot of landmines out there for him to navigate.”
Among them are questions about a visit Mr Cummings made to an area about 50 kilometres from his parents’ home during his 14-day quarantine.
Mr Cummings had also given assurances he had not stopped during the drive north but said yesterday he may have stopped to refuel his car on the way back to London.