Deputy chief medical officer agrees with colleague on Cummings
LOCKDOWN rules apply to “all of us”, England’s deputy chief medical officer has said, as she became the latest senior official to be asked about Dominic Cummings.
Dr Jenny Harries said that “as a matter of sort of personal and professional integrity, I will always try and follow the rules”.
Speaking at the Downing Street press conference yesterday, Dr Harries was asked whether she agreed with comments made by Professor Jonathan Van-tam, England’s deputy chief medical officer, after he was asked about Mr Cummings’s conduct.
Prof Van-tam had said: “In my opinion the rules are clear and they have always been clear. In my opinion they are for the benefit of all. In my opinion they apply to all.”
Asked about his comment, Dr Harries said she “absolutely” agreed with Prof Van-tam.
She said: “I thought his exposure of what he felt was exactly right. We usu- ally say exactly the same things because we think in public health terms, and I think that’s right.
“And from my own perspective I can assure you that from a level of personal and professional integrity, I would always try and follow the rules as I know he does,” Dr Harries added.
“The important thing is they are rules for all of us, and it’s really important as we go through into this next critical phase that we do follow them to the best of our abilities, and even minimise if you like, the freedoms that are there, to ensure that we can very gently come out of the pandemic.
“And if we start to spot things on the data that is difficult, there is opportunity for scientific review and advice to the Government about what needs to be done to go forward.” Mr Cummings has faced criticism for travelling from London to Durham with his family to self-isolate with coronavirus and then going for a 60-mile round trip to Barnard Castle.
Last week England’s Chief Medical Officer, Professor Chris Whitty, and the Government’s Chief Scientific Adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, said they did not want to answer questions about Mr Cummings’s conduct when they appeared alongside the Prime Minister at a Downing Street press conference.
Sir Patrick said: “I’m a civil servant, I’m politically neutral, I don’t want to get involved in politics at all.”
The row came as the Conservative Party’s lead over Labour fell by eight points, an Opinium poll showed yesterday.
The polling found support for the Tories at 43 per cent with Labour at 39 per cent.
The Prime Minister’s personal approval ratings also fell from 45 per cent to 37 per cent in a week, while two thirds of the public think Mr Johnson was wrong to support Mr Cummings, according to the polling.