No10 accuses ‘campaigning newspapers of a stream of false allegations’ over adviser

‘I was pretty convinced it was him and it didn’t seem right because I assumed he would be in London’

DOWNING Street has sought to blame the Dominic Cummings controversy on “campaigning newspapers”, as the Prime Minister last night dismissed some of the allegations as “palpably false”.

With the row showing no sign of abating, Boris Johnson used his daily press conference to defend his most senior adviser, saying he had acted “legally and responsibly”.

Earlier, following fresh allegations about Mr Cummings’s conduct, No10 said it would not waste its time answering a “stream of false allegations”.

The story was initially published in a joint exclusive by the Mirror and Guardian newspapers, both known for their Left-wing editorial positions.

The claims that Mr Cummings broke lockdown rules first broke online on

Friday evening, with more details published in Saturday’s print editions.

On Saturday evening, fresh claims were published online by the Mirror and Guardian, suggesting Mr Cummings’s version of events was not true.

He had insisted that during his time in Durham, he and his wife had self-isolated in a building on his parents’ land.

But Robin Lees, a retired chemistry teacher, claimed to have seen Mr Cummings in the market town of Barnard

Castle, 30 miles from Durham, on April 12. Mr Lees said: “I was a bit gobsmacked to see him, because I know what he looks like. And the rest of the family seemed to match – a wife and child. I was pretty convinced it was him and it didn’t seem right because I assumed he would be in London.”

He added: “I searched up the number plate later that day and my computer search history shows that.”

Last night, Sky News said it had established that Mr Cummings’s number plate had been spotted in Barnard Castle. It is understood Mr Lees came forward with his claims after the original story was published by the newspapers. It was also alleged that Mr Cummings was spotted the following week on April 19 in Durham. Responding to the allegations, a Downing Street spokesman said: “Yesterday the Mirror and Guardian wrote inaccurate stories about Mr Cummings. Today they are writing more inaccurate stories including claims that Mr Cummings returned to Durham after returning to work in Downing Street on April 14.

“We will not waste our time answering a stream of false allegations about Mr Cummings from campaigning newspapers.”