Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
CUMMINGS BROKE LOCKDOWN TWICE
... but Boris Johnson still stands by his adviser
BORIS Johnson’s top aide Dominic Cummings made TWO trips from London to Durham at the height of lockdown, the Sunday Mirror can reveal.
During the first trip his wife had coronavirus symptoms. He returned to London, only to head North again days later as Brits were under strict orders not to travel.
The PM maintained support for his key adviser yesterday. And asked if he would consider resigning, Mr Cummings, seen right, said: “Obviously not.”
DOMINIC Cummings was under huge pressure last night to explain TWO trips which defied lockdown rules that HE helped draw up.
Boris Johnson’s top aide was spotted with his wife in Houghall Woods in Durham a fortnight after the first sighting. He was first spotted in the city on April 5 while self-isolating with coronavirus symptoms.
A return to London saw him back at work on April 14. But by April 19 he was back in Durham. On the second visit, at the height of the pandemic, walkers saw Mr Cummings at the beauty spot and say he remarked: “Aren’t the bluebells lovely?”
The revelations came yesterday as: A YouGov poll showed 68 per cent of people think he broke the rules and 52 per cent think he should resign.
The PM came under pressure to sack him – but reiterated his support.
A tetchy Mr Cummings clashed with press outside his home, insisting: “It’s not about what you guys think.”
The virus death toll across the UK rose by 282 to 36,675.
The Government was thrown into chaos yesterday after we revealed the chief-of-staff broke lockdown rules.
Downing Street said he needed his relatives to help with childcare after he and his wife Mary Wakefield fell ill.
But the claims were mired in confusion after it emerged the couple continued to look after their fouryear-old son themselves in Durham.
Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Jenny Harries cast further doubt when she told the daily briefing yesterday the only exception to the rules was if there was “an extreme risk to life”.
A joint investigation by the Sunday Mirror and Observer can today reveal that Mr Cummings was spotted for a second time apparently breaching the rules – after beating Covid-19. A local couple reported seeing Mr Cummings on Sunday April 19.
One told the Mirror: “We were shocked and surprised to see him because the last time we did was earlier in the week in Downing Street.
“We thought, ‘He’s not supposed to be here during lockdown’. We thought, ‘What double standards, one rule for him as a senior adviser to the Prime Minister, another for the rest of us’.”
The witness said Mr Cummings, wearing his trademark beanie hat and outdoor clothes, was walking with a woman they believe to be his wife
Mary. Ministers insisted that Mr Cummings had “stayed put” at his family property in Durham during his first visit, to self-isolate for 14 days.
But Robin Lees, 70, a retired chemistry teacher from Barnard Castle, claimed he saw Mr Cummings and his family in the town before getting into a car around lunch time on April 12.
Although he may have completed his self-isolation, strict lockdown rules were still in place and the family were 30 miles from his parents’ home.
Mr Lees said: “I was gobsmacked. They looked as if they’d been for a walk by the river. It didn’t seem right because I assumed he would be in London. He should resign now. You don’t take the virus from one part of the country to another. It just beggars belief to think you could actually drive when the advice was stay home, save lives. It couldn’t have been clearer.”
When asked if he would consider resigning, Mr Cummings said: “Obviously not.”
The Vote Leave architect added: “You guys are probably as right about that as Brexit, remember how right you were?”
When a reporter said self-isolating in Durham “didn’t look good”, he said: “Who cares about good looks? It’s a question of doing the right thing. It’s not about what you guys think.” Mr Cummings – who has attended key meetings of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) – was spoken to by Durham Police about his first trip.
A No 10 spokesman insisted Mr Cummings did not breach guidelines by travelling 264 miles to Durham after his wife contracted coronavirus.
And at the daily briefing, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the PM had given his full support.
Amid a concerted Tory effort to shore up support, Cabinet minister Michael Gove tweeted: “Caring for your wife and child is not a crime.”
But opposition parties said Mr Cummings must go. The SNP’s Ian Blackford said there seemed to have been a “cover-up”, while Labour demanded an urgent inquiry.
No 10 declined to comment on the two claimed new sightings on April 12 and April 19 and reiterated that Mr Cummings acted “in line with coronavirus guidelines”.
He walked by and said ‘bluebells are lovely’... we were shocked
RAMBLER WHO SPOTTED AIDE ON HIS SECOND TRIP