BORIS: IT’S NOT LIKE HE WAS VISITING A LOVER
As Cummings faces public fury and SECOND accusation of breaking lockdown, PM battles to save ally
BORIS Johnson last night mounted a determined defence of his controversial aide Dominic Cummings, telling allies: ‘It’s not like he was visiting a lover’ when he allegedly broke lockdown rules.
Despite fresh claims that the adviser had made a second trip from London to Durham, the Prime Minister initially spared Mr Cummings from the axe after deciding he had been acting ‘in the best interest of his child’, rather than conducting an affair – like the journey which previously sealed the fate of scientific adviser Neil Ferguson.
As Opposition MPs demanded an inquiry, Mr Cummings last night remained defiant in the face of mounting pressure over his actions, which one No 10 insider jokingly called a
‘Domnishambles’, a reference to the derisive term ‘ omnishambles’ first used to describe an all-encompassing mess in BBC political satire The Thick Of It and then in the Commons by Ed Miliband.
Calls for Mr Cummings’s head intensified after witnesses claimed to have seen him his family at a Durham beauty spot on April 19, days after he had returned to London after his first controversial trip.
Last night No 10 reacted furiously to the new allegations, hitting out at the newspapers reporting them.
A 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 from campaigning newspapers.’
Mr Cummings yesterday insisted he had done the ‘right thing’ over the 260-mile trip he made from his London home to his elderly parents in County Durham when his wife became ill with Covid-19 symptoms. The whole family made the trip a few days after the Government imposed the lockdown on March 23 so his parents could look after their four-year-old son.
The Prime Minister t old friends: ‘Dominic acted within the guidance and was simply caring for his family. I now consider the matter closed.’
A snap YouGov poll found 68 per cent of people believe Mr Cummings flouted the Government rules and more than half (52 per cent) thought he should resign. Just 28 per cent believe he should stay at No 10.
Before the claims of a second trip emerged, insiders said Mr Johnson had ‘thrown a protective arm’ around Mr Cummings because he had a ‘compelling case’ for his trip which earned him ‘the benefit of the doubt’.
‘Breaking lockdown to see your mistress is very different from doing everything to protect your toddler,’ said one. Professor Ferguson had to resigned this month after it emerged that he had met his married mistress during lockdown.
In typically pugnacious style, Mr Cummings was unrepentant when he met reporters yesterday. Asked whether his conduct ‘ l ooked good’, he replied: ‘Who cares about good looks? It’s a question of doing the right thing. It’s not about what you guys think’.
Asked if he would resign, he said: ‘Obviously not.
You guys are probably all about as right about that as you were about Brexit’.
The drama torpedoed Mr Johnson’s effort to re-assert control of the Covid-19 crisis amid claims of power struggles in Downing Street and Cabinet splits over plans to place travellers to the UK in 14-day quarantine and the terms of a trade deal with America.
I t even ecl i psed s i gnals that the Prime Minister is planning a U-turn on allowing Chinese t e c h g i a n t Hu a we i permission to build Britain’s future 5G network. In other developments: 2 8 2 more p e o p l e wer e reported to have died with coronavirus s i nce Fri day, bringing the total to 36,675;
Business leaders and political heavyweights demanded a rethink on quarantine rules, warning that they risked decimating the travel industry;
France retaliated with their own quarantine for travellers from the UK.
Ministers pledged to have 25,000 human contact testers in place by the end of this week despite questions over recruitment and the tracing app being trialled on the Isle of Wight;
Downing Street said reports that Mr Cummings’s family had been spoken to by police were incorrect, while Cabinet ministers, including Chancellor Rishi Sunak, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and Health S e c r e t a r y Mat t Hanc o c k backed Mr Cummings.
However, there was growing anger among some Ministers that they had publicly backed Mr Cummings only for the fresh revelations to emerge. Earlier, a No 10 spokesman said: ‘Owing to his wife being infected with suspected coronavirus and the high likelihood that he would himself become unwell, it was essential for Mr Cummings to ensure his young child could be properly cared for.
‘His sister and nieces had volunteered to help so he went to a house near to but separate from his extended family in case their help was needed. His sister shopped for the family and left everything outside.
‘ At no stage was he or his family spoken to by the police about this matter.’
Durham police commissioner Steve White said it had been ‘ most unwise’ for Mr Cummings to make the journey.
The storm erupted just a day after Mr Johnson told Cabinet Ministers they would be ‘held accountable for their actions’ and must personally continue to obey lockdown measures.
Last night he summoned his Cabinet to an unusual Bank Holiday Monday meeting after spending the weekend hammering out plans to begin reopening schools and ease lockdown measures.
Mr Cummings’s survival could hinge on whether Cabinet Secr e t a r y S i r Mark S e d wi l l launches an inquiry. One insider said: ‘Sedwill could make life very difficult for Dom.’
A Labour spokesman said last night: ‘The Prime Minister’s chief adviser appears to believe that it i s one rule for him and another for the British people.’
‘He was caring for his son. Matter closed’