Dominic Cummings: No 10 accused of covering up
lockdown breach
Opposition parties demand answers after reports No 10
knew about trip six weeks ago
Matthew
Weaver
Sat 23 May
2020 10.26 BSTLast modified on Sat 23 May 2020 14.14 BST
Downing
Street is facing accusations of a cover-up over Dominic Cummings’s trip to
Durham at the height of the national lockdown, amid reports that No 10 knew he
made the 264-mile journey after developing symptoms of coronavirus.
Opposition
parties have called for Boris Johnson to sack his chief adviser over the
apparent lockdown breach, which was revealed in an investigation by the
Guardian and the Mirror.
Durham
constabulary spoke to Cummings’s family to remind them of the lockdown rules
after receiving reports on 31 March that he was in Durham days after becoming
sick.
The acting
Durham police, crime and victims’ commissioner, Steve White, said Cummings’s
trip to Durham was “unwise”. He added: “To beat this crisis we need to be
selfless, as millions have been. The response by the people of County Durham
and Darlington have been exemplary, which makes this most frustrating and
concerning.”
Downing
Street and Cummings have repeatedly refused to answer questions from the
Guardian over a number of weeks about Cummings’s movements.
They broke
their silence on Saturday. Cummings said: “I behaved reasonably and legally.
Who cares about good looks? It’s a question of doing the right thing.”
Downing
Street said: “Owing to his wife being infected with suspected coronavirus and
the high likelihood that he would himself become unwell, it was essential for
Dominic 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.
“At no
stage was he or his family spoken to by the police about this matter. His
actions were in line with coronavirus guidelines. Mr Cummings believes he
behaved reasonably and legally.”
Durham
police said on Friday that officers had “explained to the family the [lockdown]
guidelines”. On Saturday the force said it was standing by its statement and
had nothing further to add.
The BBC
reported that an anonymous source close to Cummings had claimed that a “small
number of people in No 10 knew that Cummings had gone to Durham”.
This
prompted the Scottish National party’s Westminster leader, Ian Blackford, to
accuse Downing Street of trying to suppress the story.
Blackford
said: “What I find interesting … is that members of Downing Street knew about
this, so first and foremost Boris Johnson has serious questions to answer over
what now appears to be a cover-up.”
Responding
to No 10’s statement a spokesperson for the Labour party said: “The lockdown
rules were very clear: if you or anyone in your household was suspected of
having Covid-19 you must immediately self-isolate and not leave the house.
However, the prime minister’s chief adviser appears to believe that it is one
rule for him and another for the British people.
“This will
cause understandable anger for the millions of people who have sacrificed so
much during this crisis.
“No 10’s
statement also raises more questions than it answers. We are still unclear who
knew about this decision and when, whether this was sanctioned by the prime
minister and whether No 10 is now questioning the validity of the statement
from Durham police.
“At this
afternoon’s press conference, we will be expecting answers to these questions.”
The
Guardian first approached Downing Street for a comment in April after being
told by a neighbour of Cummings’s parents that they had seen him at the Durham
property on 5 April.
No 10
refused to discuss the issue at the time. A spokesman said: “It’ll be a no
comment on that one. We wouldn’t get into location of individual members of
staff.”
Speaking to
BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Blackford said: “The prime minister must explain
exactly when he knew about the breaking of the rules, whether he sanctioned it,
why Cummings wasn’t sacked immediately and why it appears that he tried to
cover it up, not telling the public until the newspaper[s] broke the story
eight weeks later last night.”
Dave
Penman, the general secretary of the FDA, the union that represents senior
civil servants, said Johnson had a duty to explain Cummings’s behaviour.
He told
Today: “I think the prime minister needs to understand how heartbreaking this
lockdown has been for so many families and the sacrifices that have been made
up and down the country.
“I think in
these circumstances, if it looks like there is one rule for those at the centre
of government and one rule for the rest of the country, then really the prime
minister has a responsibility, as well as a constitutional responsibility, to
explain his actions. He has known about this for six weeks.”
Plaid Cymru
and the Liberal Democrats have also called for Cummings to resign or be sacked.
One Tory MP told the Guardian: “I won’t be lifting a finger to defend him.”
They
suggested Cummings would find few defenders in the parliamentary Conservative
party. “He isn’t popular with most Tory MPs. The radio silence on the Tory MP
WhatsApp group since the story broke is pretty telling. The issue is he’s
increasingly becoming the story. The cardinal sin of any Spad [special
adviser].”
The foreign
secretary, Dominic Raab, accused opponents of Cummings of trying “politicise”
his behaviour. He tweeted: “It’s reasonable and fair to ask for an explanation
on this. And it has been provided: two parents with coronavirus, were anxiously
taking care of their young child. Those now seeking to politicise it should
take a long hard look in the mirror.”
His cabinet
colleague Michael Gove tweeted: “Caring for your wife and child is not a
crime.”
Prof Susan
Michie, of University College London, who is a member of Sage, the scientific
group that has guided the government’s response to the coronavirus, suggested
Cummings’s trip would undermine trust in the official advice on the outbreak.
Dorset’s
police and crime commissioner, Martyn Underhill, said such a high-profile
breach of the rules by Cummings would make it more difficult for police to
enforce the lockdown.
He said:
“Here’s a very high-profile person and it’s very unfortunate, the timing of
this because, this is going to be the busiest weekend Dorset has seen this
year.”
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