PM aide faces the axe over two trips
Dominic Cummings was under huge pressure last night to explain TWO trips which defied lockdown rules 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 seen 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 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.
Despite this, the PM reiterated his support. 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 four-year-old son 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 reveals Cummings was spotted for a second time apparently breaching the rules – after beating Covid-19. A local couple reported seeing him on Sunday, April 19.
One said: “We were shocked to see him. We thought, ‘He’s not supposed to be here during lockdown. What double standards.’”
The witness said Cummings, wearing his trademark beanie hat, was walking with a woman they believe to be his wife Mary.
Ministers insisted Cummings had “stayed put” at his family property in Durham during his first visit.
But Robin Lees, 70, from Barnard Castle, claimed he saw Cummings and his family in the town around lunch time on April 12.
No10 declined to comment on the two claimed new sightings and reiterated that Cummings acted “in line with coronavirus guidelines”.
But the SNP’s Ian Blackford said there seemed to have been a “cover-up”, while Labour demanded an urgent inquiry.