Coronavirus: UK Minister Douglas Ross quits

May 26, 2020

Junior minister Douglas Ross has resigned after Dominic Cummings’ defence of his trip to County Durham during the coronavirus lockdown.

The Scotland Office minister said the senior aide’s view of the government guidance was “not shared by the vast majority of people”.

No 10 said the prime minister regretted Mr Ross’ decision to stand down.

It comes as more than 35 Tory MPs have called on Mr Cummings to resign.

Mr Cummings’ decision in March to drive 260 miles from his London home to his parents’ farm with his child and ill wife – which he explained on Monday was for childcare purposes – dominated the government’s daily coronavirus press briefing.

Asked by a member of the public whether ministers would review penalty fines imposed on families who travel for childcare, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: “I will have to talk to my Treasury colleagues before I can answer [that] in full and we will look at it.”

The BBC’s political editor Laura Kuenssberg, citing a government source, said Mr Hancock did “not announce a review” but would pass the concern on to his colleagues.

Rev Martin Poole, a vicar from Brighton, said he asked the question of Mr Hancock because “people feel a bit cheated” and many feel a sense of “unfairness” about the story, adding: “We want to all be treated on a level playing field.”

During the No 10 briefing, Mr Hancock said he understood the “anger that some people feel” over Mr Cummings’ actions, but added: “My view is that what he did was within the guidelines.”

Mr Ross, who remains Conservative MP for Moray, said Mr Cummings’ “intentions may have been well meaning” – but that he could not tell constituents who had been unable to visit sick relatives during lockdown that “they were all wrong and one senior adviser to the government was right”.

Mr Ross’ decision was praised by Labour’s shadow Scottish secretary Ian Murray and the SNP’s Westminster leader Ian Blackford, who called it the “decent thing” and a “difficult decision” respectively.

At a news conference on Monday afternoon, Mr Cummings said he did not regret his actions and believed he acted reasonably and legally.

Asked why, once in County Durham, he drove his family to the town of Barnard Castle – 15 days after he had displayed coronavirus symptoms himself – Mr Cummings said he had experienced vision problems during his illness and was testing his eyesight to see if he could drive back to London.

The drip drip of Conservative MPs calling on Dominic Cummings to go has continued on Tuesday.

Now surpassing 35, it is around 10% of the parliamentary party.

However, what’s notable is that there are those who, even if they’re not calling on Mr Cummings to go, have felt it necessary to write long open letters explaining their thinking to constituents.

Public anger, it seems, has not been put to bed by Monday’s extraordinary rose garden press conference.

The prime minister’s chief aide does, of course, have his backers; people who believe he did what was right in difficult circumstances.

And one government minister suggested to me that the story has been “whipped up” by those who simply do not like Mr Cummings, either politically or as a person.

But this saga is now into its fourth day, in a week when the prime minister wishes to communicate crucial messages about his plans for easing the lockdown.

It is – another minister conceded – a “problem” and “distraction”.

And on Tuesday, as yesterday, the question remains, how much political capital is Boris Johnson ready to expend on keeping his chief aide?

Boris Johnson’s spokesman reiterated the prime minister’s support for Mr Cummings on Tuesday, saying the adviser had “answered questions extensively”, while Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove said his account was “exhaustive, detailed and verifiable”.

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Scottish Conservative leader Jackson Carlaw told the BBC Mr Cummings should resign as the row is “distracting attention” from efforts to combat the coronavirus.

Among the Tory MPs calling for Mr Cummings’ resignation is former Attorney General Jeremy Wright, who said combating the coronavirus was “more important than the position of any individual in Downing Street”.

He is joined by William Wragg, MP for Hazel Grove, who said it was “humiliating” to see ministers defending Mr Cummings, and Sir Roger Gale, MP for North Thanet, who said the adviser had sent out a “dangerous message”.

Former Conservative health secretary Jeremy Hunt told his South West Surrey constituents that Mr Cummings’ actions were “a clear breach of the lockdown rules” – but they were “mistakes” and he would not call for his resignation.

Six opposition leaders have said in a letter to the prime minister that removing Mr Cummings from his post “without further delay” is the only way to restore trust in public health advice.

The leaders of the SNP, Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru, SDLP, Green Party and Alliance Party said the issue “transcends politics”.

“It has united people of every party and political persuasion, who believe strongly that it is now your responsibility as prime minister to return clarity and trust in public health messaging,” the letter read.

Meanwhile, the retired chemistry teacher who recognised Mr Cummings in County Durham on 12 April told BBC Radio Newcastle he has some regrets about his involvement.

Robin Lees said he had had a “difficult few days” after his account of the encounter was initially rejected by Downing Street, but that he felt “vindicated” by the subsequent admission.

Why the whole of Britain is talking about this man

May 26, 2020

The UK prime minister’s most senior adviser has come under fire for travelling across the country during the coronavirus lockdown, while he had virus symptoms.

Dominic Cummings drove 260 miles (418km) from London to Durham, and took a 60-mile round trip from Durham to a nearby town on his wife’s birthday – a trip he says he made to test whether his eyesight was good enough to drive.

Mr Cummings is facing calls to resign, both from opposition politicians and members of the governing Conservative Party, whose leader, Boris Johnson, he advises.

In a highly unusual move for an adviser, Mr Cummings gave a press conference on Monday. He said he believed he acted “reasonably” and within the law. He has so far been backed by Mr Johnson and other senior government ministers.

But his actions have raised the question – did one of the government’s most senior employees ignore the rules he had helped set for millions of people across the nation?

Who is Dominic Cummings?

Mr Cummings is Boris Johnson’s chief adviser. He is not a member of parliament and is not elected.

Before the current lockdown scandal, he was best known for masterminding the successful Vote Leave campaign in the 2016 Brexit referendum, which saw the UK vote by a narrow majority to leave the European Union.

Mr Cummings was played by actor Benedict Cumberbatch played in Brexit: The Uncivil War – a 2019 drama about the referendum.

Last year, he advised Mr Johnson to call an early election and to fight it on a “Get Brexit Done” ticket. The vote gave the Conservatives their biggest election win since 1987.

Mr Cummings has never been a member of the Conservatives and he is seen as a divisive figure within the party. Former Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron once described him as a “career psychopath”.

But he is more than just a run-of-the-mill adviser to Mr Johnson – in many ways, his ideas have forged the government’s agenda. He has played a key role in advising the government on its coronavirus strategy.

What did he do during lockdown?

In late March, Mr Cummings drove about 260 miles from his London home with his wife and child to a farm in north-east England owned by his parents. He says that his wife was unwell at the time and that he got sick soon after, with what they believe was coronavirus.

Then in mid-April Mr Cummings was spotted with his wife and son in a town a 30-minute drive away from his parents’ home. He has said he made the trip in order to test his eyesight, which he was concerned had been impaired by coronavirus.

The two newspapers that broke the story, the Mirror and the Guardian, also reported that the adviser returned to northern England a second time – a claim Mr Cummings has denied.

The reports about Mr Cummings have prompted widespread outrage. The government’s message at the time – a message that Mr Cummings reportedly helped to draft – was “Stay Home”.

The British public had been expressly instructed to self-isolate for two weeks after experiencing coronavirus symptoms. Many avoided travel even at the cost of missing the passing and funerals of loved ones.

One of the British government’s scientific advisers and Scotland’s chief medical officer have both been forced to step down in recent weeks for breaking UK lockdown rules.
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How have Cummings and the government responded?

Both Mr Cummings and Mr Johnson insist that the adviser did not break the rules. In the daily coronavirus briefing on Sunday, Mr Johnson said his chief aide had “followed the instincts of every father” and acted responsibly in making the journey.

But his remarks only led to more criticism, with members of the public saying they had ignored their own instincts to be with family members in need because they felt they had to follow the rules.

Others questioned whether the prime minister was implying they were not acting as responsible parents in following the rules.

On Monday, Mr Cummings made the highly unusual decision to hold a press conference – normally only elected government officials, not the people behind the scenes, publicly speak to the media.

Addressing reporters in the garden of the prime minister’s house, 10 Downing Street, he gave an account of his movements and said he did not regret his actions.

Mr Cummings said he made the trip to his family farm mainly because he needed back-up care for his four-year-old son in case he and his wife were ill. He said it was an “exceptional situation” he believed was covered by the coronavirus regulations.

He said he stayed in a separate property with his wife and child and followed rules on social distancing.

The rules instructed those with coronavirus symptoms and others in their household to stay at home, but they also made this caveat: “If you have children, keep following this advice to the best of your ability, however, we are aware that not all these measures will be possible.”

Mr Cummings did not apologise and said he had not considered resigning.

What has happened since?

The government had hoped Monday’s press conference would draw a line under the scandal, but it shows no sign of going away. Some have accused Mr Cummings of breaking the “spirit” of the lockdown guidance, even if his actions could be defended legally. There are also worries his actions will undermine the government’s coronavirus guidance, encouraging the 66 million people living in the UK to follow their own interpretations of the rules.

“It really is one rule for him [Boris Johnson] and his elite friends and another for the rest of us,” one member of parliament with the opposition Labour Party wrote on Twitter.

The number of Conservative Party politicians publicly criticising Mr Cummings is growing.

On Tuesday, Junior Minister Douglas Ross became the first person to resign from the government in protest. He said Mr Cummings’ interpretation of the government guidance was “not shared by the vast majority of people”.

Mr Ross said he could not tell people in the community he represents they were wrong to miss funerals and other family events, and that Mr Cummings was right to drive to his parents’ home.

Source: BBC

Calls for UK PM aide to resign after lockdown travel

May 23, 2020

Opposition MPs are calling for Dominic Cummings to resign if he is found to have broken the lockdown guidance after travelling 250 miles from London to Durham when he had Covid-19 symptoms.

The prime minister’s chief aide and his wife, who was also unwell, stayed at his parents’ home while self-isolating.

Labour demanded No 10 provide a “swift explanation” for Mr Cummings’ actions.

A source close to Mr Cummings denied a breach of the coronavirus rules, saying the couple needed childcare help.

They added the couple had stayed in a separate building at the property.

Downing Street declined to comment on Friday night after the story was first reported in the Guardian and the Daily Mirror newspapers.

But a Labour spokesman said: “If accurate, the prime minister’s chief adviser appears to have breached the lockdown rules. The government’s guidance was very clear: stay at home and no non-essential travel.

“The British people do not expect there to be one rule for them and another rule for Dominic Cummings.”

The Scottish National Party’s Westminster leader Ian Blackford said Mr Cummings should resign or be dismissed by Mr Johnson and that it was a “key test of leadership” for the prime minister.

Ed Davey, acting leader of the Liberal Democrats, added: “If Dominic Cummings has broken the guidelines he will have to resign, it is as simple as that.”

And speaking on BBC Newsnight, former Conservative MP David Liddington, who was de facto deputy PM under Theresa May, told BBC Newsnight: “There’s clearly serious questions that No 10 are going to have to address not least because the readiness of members of the public to follow government guidance more generally is going to be affected by this sort of story.”

On 30 March, it was reported that Mr Cummings, the former Vote Leave chief who was the architect of the PM’s Brexit strategy, had developed symptoms of the coronavirus and was self-isolating at home.

In a statement, Durham Police said: “On Tuesday, March 31, our officers were made aware of reports that an individual had travelled from London to Durham and was present at an address in the city.

“Officers made contact with the owners of that address who confirmed that the individual in question was present and was self-isolating in part of the house.

“In line with national policing guidance, officers explained to the family the guidelines around self-isolation and reiterated the appropriate advice around essential travel.”

The source close to Mr Cummings told the BBC’s political editor Laura Kuenssberg he had not been spoken to by officers and had made the trip because his parents could help care for his young child while he and his wife were both ill with symptoms of coronavirus.
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Analysis

At the time Dominic Cummings had coronavirus symptoms, there was only a limited set of reasons for which people were allowed to leave their homes.

And the advice for anyone was – and is – not to leave home at all for at least seven days.

Remember there have already been other senior figures involved in tackling the pandemic who have had to resign for breaching lockdown restrictions – Scotland’s former Chief Medical Officer Catherine Calderwood and leading scientist Prof Neil Ferguson, who was advising the government.

A source close to Dominic Cummings is insistent that he didn’t break the rules.

But for those at the top to be perceived to even be stretching the rules is damaging.

Along with triggering accusations of hypocrisy, it risks prompting people to question why they should be following the rules, if those involved in imposing them are not.

Government advice on 31 March was for the public to stay at home and only leave their address for clearly defined reasons, including to exercise, essential shopping or for medical needs.

At the time – and as remains the case – those with symptoms of coronavirus are told to self-isolate at home and not leave even for essential supplies, if possible, for seven days.

Earlier in that month, the prime minister said in a speech that “children should not be left with older grandparents, or older relatives, who may be particularly vulnerable or fall into some of the vulnerable groups”.

Mr Cummings, 48, wrote about his experience of self-isolating with his wife, Mary Wakefield, in the Spectator magazine.

He said that “at the end of March and for the first two weeks of April I was ill, so we were both shut in together”.

At the time Mr Johnson’s positive test result for coronavirus was announced on 27 March, Downing Street said that Mr Cummings was not unwell. But within days it was confirmed that the strategist had started displaying coronavirus symptoms.

Mr Cummings was next photographed at Downing Street on 14 April after his recovery.

Source: BBC