Well. What a day.
- Dominic Cummings has the “full support” of the prime minister, despite travelling 250 miles to County Durham during the lockdown. Boris Johnson faced rising pressure to sack his key adviser after the Guardian and Mirror revealed he drove from London with his wife and child to his parents’ property in Durham after his wife developed coronavirus symptoms after lockdown was introduced in March. It remains unclear what the prime minister knew about Cummings’ whereabouts while he was self-isolating with the illness and “staying put”. Pressed on the issue at the daily press briefing, Grant Shapps said:
I can tell you the PM provides Mr Cummings with his full support.
- Senior cabinet ministers publicly backed the PM’s top aide, suggesting the issue was simply one of good parenting and had been politicised. This contradicted an earlier statement from Durham police which said it acted in line with national policing guidance when officers reiterated the advice around essential travel to the owner of the property in Durham. Cummings justified the journey by saying his four-year-old son would have been left without care and so they were “doing the right thing”, even though his wife was symptomatic at the time and the public had been advised against all but essential travel, not to let children be around their grandparents, and for anyone with symptoms (and their households) to self-isolate immediately for 14 days.
- Labour and the SNP have each written to the cabinet secretary, Mark Sedwill, asking for an urgent inquiry into what the prime minister knew about the incident and what role the government played in keeping it under wraps. The SNP have called on the head of the civil service to investigate “the rule-breaking and the Tory government’s cover-up” of Cummings’ lockdown journey “as a matter of serious public concern”. Ian Blackford, the SNP’s Westminster leader, said:
I have written to Sir Mark Sedwill seeking an immediate investigation into the rule-breaking and the Tory government’s cover-up - and to call for Dominic Cummings to resign or be sacked.
Boris Johnson must answer serious questions about his role in this incident and the cover-up - including when he found out, when he heard about the police action, why Mr Cummings wasn’t sacked immediately, and why he kept the public in the dark for eight weeks until a newspaper broke the story.
Dominic Cummings’ position is completely untenable.
This is a matter of leadership and judgment for the prime minister who must prevent lasting damage to his government and his own reputation.
Millions of us have made huge sacrifices over the months to obey the rules, while Boris Johnson’s most senior adviser was breaking them.
There cannot be one rule for the Tory government and another for the rest of us.
- The government seemed to suggest it is now up to individuals to ensure they are safeguarding themselves or people within their household. This has left many people wondering why, if there was always room for interpretation, people were instructed clearly to stay at home and observe social distancing since 23 March. It has left many parents across the country angry that they have struggled during lockdown with childcare, made sacrifices and not accepted help from relatives in order to adhere to the rules and protect loved ones.
- However, the guidance remains that anyone showing symptoms should take themselves out of society immediately and the whole household should self-isolate, Dr Jenny Harries reiterated. The deputy chief medical officer for England added that there was an element of “common sense” when it came to safeguarding if there was an individual at extreme risk, eg a sick child, elderly person or clinically vulnerable individual.
- And the government released new funding to restore public transport back to a full timetable.
And that brings us to the end of a long, tumultuous day for Boris Johnson’s government. A huge thank you to everybody who got in touch with thoughts and comments throughout the day, and to all of you for reading along.
That’s all from us on the UK side. If you’d like to continue following the Guardian’s coverage of the coronavirus pandemic, head over to the global live blog for the worldwide picture.
Updated
Updated
Shapps reminds people to avoid travelling at peak times, and to walk, cycle or drive if possible.
And that concludes this afternoon’s very turbulent press conference.
Updated
Q. Is the government going to introduce compensation for the families of transport workers who have died?
Shapps says he is concerned that many of the people on the frontline who have died have come from ethnic minorities.
He doesn’t answer the question of compensation being extended.
Q. What measures are being taken to protect BAME workers when the transport system opens up further?
Shapps says he has written to the transport operators to make sure they’re aware of what equipment, procedures and processes should be in place to protect workers.
It’s of great concern that 53 transport workers have died during the pandemic, he says.
Prof Kevin Fenton’s report should be available at the end of this month, he says.
Updated
Q. We’ve already had two resignations from senior aides who have broken the rules [Neil Ferguson and Catherine Calderwood]. Is there one rule for certain aides and one rule for the Downing Street aides? What’s different about Dominic Cummings to other aides in senior positions?
Shapps says most people would be thinking what would they do in that situation.
This wasn’t visiting a holiday home or to visit someone; this was to stay put for 14 days and to remain in isolation and to get over a significant bout of illness with coronavirus and return to London only when well to do a job that couldn’t be done elsewhere, he says.
So I think there’s every difference, he adds.
Q. Did the prime minister know about this? The public have a right to know what he knew about the visit and what he was told about it.
Shapps says Boris Johnson knew he was staying in one place with his family, and gives Cummings his full support.
Updated
Q. Can you clarify whether anyone from Durham Constabulary spoke to any member of Cummings’ family?
Shapps says Cummings’ statement says at no stage was any member of the family spoken to by the police.
Q. Does that mean the police are not speaking straightforwardly?
Shapps says he’s unsure where that confusion comes in but the statement is black and white.
Updated
Q. When did the prime minister know Dominic Cummings had gone to Durham and does this undermine the ‘stay at home’ message?
Shapps says he doesn’t know the answer to this.
The PM provides Cummings with his full support and an explanation has been provided, he says.
Harries says as a doctor she cannot comment on a clinical position of an individual, which she does not have on this case.
If you’re symptomatic, you stay at home, you take yourself out of society with your household as quickly as you can and stay there, unless there is an extreme risk to life, she reiterates.
Q. Are you saying that anyone who becomes ill with the virus, they can go closer to relatives – no matter how far away that is?
Shapps says the rules have subsequently changed anyway.
People can now travel, if you’re not symptomatic, any distance to exercise.
If you’re symptomatic, you have to get yourself locked down in the most practical way, he says.
This will be different depending on different family circumstances, he adds.
Q. What are the risks of travelling if you have the virus and would you recommend it?
Harries says if people have symptoms, they should self-isolate immediately and stay in their homes.
The only exception around this is around risk, ie the issue of safeguarding for children or adults, she adds.
In relation to travel, if you’re in a private car, transmission within the vehicle is a higher risk but if you’re in a household group your exposure risk is usually the same, as long as you’re not meeting anyone else, she says.
Updated
Q. People have had to make very difficult choices throughout this lockdown. Should they have been using their own interpretation of the ‘stay at home’ message?
Shapps says you should of course follow the guidance to the best of your ability.
It’s for an individual to decide if they have enough support around the family, he says.
The decision here [with Cummings] was to go to that location [Durham] and stay in that location, they didn’t move around, he says.
Q. How can you personally be sure that by driving across England, Dominic Cummings didn’t infect anyone else on the way or while he was there?
Q. What do you say to those people who are unable to say goodbye to their loved ones or go to their funerals because they were observing the rules?
Shapps says everyone has tried to do the right thing and has been affected by the virus.
In this case, a four-year-old needed support so a decision was taken, he says.
The child’s welfare was the important thing here, he adds.
He says Cummings’ niece and sister brought food to the property he and his family were staying in. He stayed in the same place and prevented the possibility of the child not having support, he adds.
Q. If the family was just bringing food to the doorstep, why couldn’t he get that in London?
Shapps says Cummings went to where the family was, which was in Durham, and stayed there.
Q. When have you said it was all right to resort to other family members if parents are unable to look after small children because one of them has symptoms?
Harries says the public health advice is to take yourself out of society if you have symptoms.
If two adults are ill and unable to cope for a small dependent, the guidance has a common-sense element which accounts for such safeguarding issues like this, she says.
Updated
They are taking questions from the media now. *deep breaths*
Q. Is the advice to parents now that if you don’t have extended family nearby, even when you’re ill with Covid symptoms, you’re allowed to leave your home, travel many miles across the country and isolate closer to your extended family.
Harries says the scientific and medical advice is to take symptomatic people out of the public domain.
The advice is very clear: you self-isolate at home and your household self-isolates with you, she says.
If there is a safeguarding issue, eg with an elderly or clinically vulnerable individual or a sick child, there needs to be some sort of safeguard in place, she says.
Shapps says if younger members of the family can assist then that might be the best place for you to settle and stay while you’re ill.
Harries adds people need to come out of circulation and self-isolate the minute they have symptoms, and stay out of circulation.
Q. Did the prime minister know that Dominic Cummings had travelled more than 250 miles during lockdown and did he approve this?
Shapps says the important thing is that everyone remains in the same place while they’re locked down, which is what Cummings did – he stayed put and didn’t come out again until he was feeling better.
Updated
Sarah from Newbury asks if under-fives will be able to get tested once early years settings are reopened, to reassure staff and parents it is safe.
Harries says we’re still learning about the disease in children but it is known that children rarely become ill with Covid-19 and there are signals that the transmission from children is reduced.
Testing for under-fives will be progressed going forward, she says.
Updated
They are taking questions from the public now.
They don’t know the questions in advance, Shapps notes.
Gordon from Gosport asks how the government is going to prevent travellers from staying a few days in Ireland at the end of a foreign holiday to bypass the government’s 14-day quarantine.
Shapps says Ireland has a form of quarantine in place as well, so it would still apply.
Updated
The only positive note on the number of deaths is that it is starting to come down on average, Harries says.
Across the UK’s countries and regions, there is a downward trend in all areas in the number of people in hospial with Covid-19, Harries says.
The “steady, slow” downward trend in hospital admissions in England continues, Harries says.
Across the four nations, the percentage of mechanical ventilator beds occupied by patients with Covid-19 is also falling, she says.
Harries says there is a trend upwards in daily testing, varying over weekends, but it’s encouraging as there is a downward trend in new cases.
Dr Jenny Harries is going through the slides now.
Use of parks has gone up, in line with national guidance, she says.
Using parks is good for mental and physical health but please observe social distancing – stay two metres away from people from outside your household and only meet one person at a time – she says.
She adds that 86% of adults have left their home in accordance with national guidance, ie for essentials or exercise.
Updated
The Covid outbreak must be the catalyst for “levelling up” the country, Shapps says.
Journeys should be staggered and people should avoid rush hour, Shapps says.
Shapps announces £283m to start moving public transport back to a full timetable.
However, those who can should still work from home, and those who can should still avoid all forms of public transport, he says.
Even a fully restored service will only be capable of carrying, at best, one fifth of normal capacity, to allow for social distancing, he adds.
Updated
UK death toll rises by 282 to 36,675
The transport secretary is speaking now.
He is going through the daily numbers on testing, positive cases, hospitalisations and deaths.
He says 36,675 people have died across all settings, an increase of 282 fatalities since yesterday.
Updated
Grant Shapps' press conference
Amid continued calls for the prime minister’s top aide to resign, the transport secretary, Grant Shapps, appears to have drawn the short straw – he will be fronting this afternoon’s press conference, which is due to begin shortly.
All eyes, however, will be on the deputy chief medical officer for England, Dr Jenny Harries, and what she will make of the government’s insistence that Dominic Cummings’ travelling 260 miles across country during lockdown to stay with his parents, while symptomatic, for childcare was the right thing to do.
Updated
This is from Labour’s deputy leader, Angela Rayner:
From what I can see so far from the Cummings #DurhamGate is government ministers are intent on undermining their own public health message instead of reinforcing it at a crucial time for the U.K. Another failure to protect us and slow to act decisively.
— 🌈 Angela Rayner 🌈 (@AngelaRayner) May 23, 2020
My whole family went into isolation for 2 weeks when I had symptoms including my sons who both have respiratory health concerns. I didn’t send them to my parents despite being petrified I’d pass it on to them. He was wrong to travel & you are wrong to undermine your own advice. https://t.co/jzsfZYDeYq
— 🌈 Angela Rayner 🌈 (@AngelaRayner) May 23, 2020
Updated
The attorney general, Suella Braverman, is the latest senior politician to support Dominic Cummings’ actions. The most senior law officer in the government, Braverman has effectively gone against what Durham police have said on the matter (see 11.14am.).
She suggested the matter should have been considered closed with No 10’s statement (see 10.25am.) and the issue was being “politicised”.
Protecting one’s family is what any good parent does. The @10DowningStreet statement clarifies the situation and it is wholly inappropriate to politicise it. https://t.co/SdI5A1Dn2z
— Suella Braverman MP (@SuellaBraverman) May 23, 2020
Her language echoes that of her senior cabinet colleagues, including Michael Gove and Dominic Raab (see 11.08am.), who have said Cummings was only taking care of his family. If reactions on social media are anything to go by, the government’s defence of Cummings has left a sour taste in the mouths of parents across the country who are now asking, is No 10 saying I am a bad parent for following the rules?
One Twitter user, David Penney, wrote:
So when I had symptoms and my wife and kids self isolated with me, rather than going to stay with my parents who are over 70, we were being bad parents? Really?
Another user, Cat Wallis, tweeted:
So you’re saying that those of us who both had Covid but followed the rules and stayed home to look after our children even though we could barely stand up are not good parents?
And Sean Brady, also wrote on Twitter:
So anyone who self-isolated at home instead of breaking quarantine to get someone else to look after their child is now a bad parent. Is that the government’s official position now?
Updated
As the row over Dominic Cummings continues to unfold, calls for his resignation continue to mount, and government ministers defend his actions, members of the public have many questions.
Among them, why is Cummings being excused for reportedly breaching lockdown rules due to needing help with childcare, when for the last nine weeks parents up and down the country have struggled without help while they suffered symptoms because they didn’t feel they could seek or accept help because it was against the rules? And if it was indeed fine all along, why wasn’t clear guidance on this subject given to the broader population?
The government has insisted that Cummings was well within the rules when he travelled 260 miles from London to Durham during lockdown. Cummings said he wanted help from his family caring for his young son if he and his wife became too ill to do so alone.
When Alex Duell and his wife began experiencing coronavirus symptoms, they turned down the offer of help from her mother, who lives 30 minutes away and was desperate to help looking after their two young children, because it went against government advice. Duell said:
Had we accepted her help, we would have felt too guilty for breaking the rules of ‘stay at home’.
Whilst Dominic Cummings was heading to Durham to receive support for childcare whilst suffering from coronavirus symptoms, myself and my wife found ourself in the same position.
Cummings said he did the right thing, we all want the best for our families, but we have been forced to do this in light of the government advice.
Once again the general public have been let down, the sacrifices we all make mean nothing to this government if they so blatantly break the rules then fail to accept any responsibility.
Another couple who fell ill with symptoms in mid-March, said they did not travel the half mile to take their primary-aged children to their grandparents or the 50 miles to take them to an aunt and uncle, because they, too, were mindful of the “stay at home” message. They said it never occurred to them that they could or should do differently.
The government’s guidelines at the time stated:
Can I leave my home while self-isolating?
If you or someone you live with has symptoms of coronavirus:
- Do not leave the house for any reason – if you need food, or medicine, order it online or by phone, or ask someone to deliver it to your home.
- Do not have visitors in your home – including friends and family
- Do any exercise at home – you can use your garden, if you have one
Updated
Here is the moment Dominic Cummings told reporters he did the “right thing” by travelling 260 miles from London to Durham to be near relatives during the lockdown.
Cummings is facing calls to quit over the journey, which he made when his wife had Covid-19 symptoms. Downing Street has defended Cummings’ actions (see 10.25am.).
Updated
NHS England has announced 157 new deaths of people who tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in England to 25,544.
Of the 157 new deaths announced on Saturday:
- 30 occurred on 22 May
- 81 occurred on 21 May
- 19 occurred on 20 May
The number of deaths of patients with Covid-19 by region are as follows:
East of England 17
London 19
Midlands 30
North East & Yorkshire 36
North West 23
South East 22
South West 10
Total 157
The figures also show 24 of the new deaths took place between 1 and 19 May, and the remaining three deaths took place in April with the earliest new death on 22 April.
NHS England releases updated figures each day showing the dates of every coronavirus-related death in hospitals in England, often including previously uncounted deaths that took place several days or even weeks ago. This is because of the time it takes for deaths to be confirmed as testing positive for Covid-19, for postmortem examinations to be processed and for data from the tests to be validated.
The figures published today by NHS England show 8 April continues to have the highest number for the most hospital deaths occurring on a single day, with a current total of 891.
Updated
The Scottish National party has written to the prime minister and the head of the civil service calling for an investigation into Dominic Cummings’ “rule-breaking and the Tory government’s cover-up”.
In the letter to Mark Sedwill and Boris Johnson, the party’s leader in Westminster Ian Blackford said he was calling for Cummings to be sacked.
He asked for the following questions to be answered:
- When did Johnson first find out about Cummings’ trip to Durham and the police investigation into the rule-breaking incident?
- Did anyone in the UK government sanction the rule-breaking incident?
- Why was Cummings not sacked or asked to resign at the time?
- What role did Johnson play in the decision to cover up the incident by keeping the public in the dark for eight weeks until the story was broken by a newspaper?
In a statement, Blackford said:
Dominic Cummings’ position is completely untenable. This is a matter of leadership and judgment for the prime minister who must prevent lasting damage to his government and his own reputation.
Millions of us have made huge sacrifices over the months to obey the rules, while Boris Johnson’s most senior adviser was breaking them. There cannot be one rule for the Tory government and another for the rest of us.
The excuses are not credible. There was absolutely nothing in the list of reasons under the law for leaving the house that allowed someone to travel the length of the country to stay with their parents, particularly not someone who was known to have the virus.
Updated
Here is video of Cummings emerging from his house earlier today (see 12.44pm). It will be for others to characterise his demeanour, but he seems fairly unrepentant and even appears to be making light of his own transgressions.
Having been accused of comprehensively breaking social distancing guidelines after travelling 250 miles to County Durham with the illness, Dominic Cummings emerges from his home chastising reporters for not standing two metres apart. pic.twitter.com/rHKTffV4zb
— Lewis Goodall (@lewis_goodall) May 23, 2020
Dominic Cummings did not follow the advice which the Conservative party just posted on their Facebook account, according to the BBC’s Lewis Goodall.
29 minutes ago, the Conservative Party posted this on their Facebook account. It quotes the Prime Minister saying “if you have symptoms of coronavirus, you should self isolate and get yourself tested...Don’t risk spreading the virus.” pic.twitter.com/5ZdZNCrCzl
— Lewis Goodall (@lewis_goodall) May 23, 2020
And there are serious questions over whether the prime minister’s top aide sought to prevent the virus spreading from household to household, as the Guardian’s former deputy editor Paul Johnson highlights.
Boris Johnson's message on March 28.
— Paul Johnson (@paul__johnson) May 23, 2020
-The day after Cummings made his 260 mile dash to Durham https://t.co/gGiL5spNKO
With demands growing for Boris Johnson to sack his chief aide, Downing Street finally went public to defend Dominic Cummings on Saturday – after seven weeks of failing to provide on-the-record explanations about his whereabouts – but the explanation provided appears to leave fundamental questions unanswered, as my colleagues report:
So, erm, was it permissible to travel for help with childcare under the lockdown rules? I had not thought so, but the government’s defence of Dominic Cummings – who is claimed to have respected the guidelines despite driving 260 miles with suspected coronavirus – raises questions that millions of people will want clarifying. Were we all mistaken? What did “stay home, save lives, protect the NHS” actually mean?
When Boris Johnson introduced the UK lockdown he gave “a very simple instruction - you must stay at home”.
The rules, announced in a speech on 23 March, stated that people would only be allowed to leave the house for limited purposes.
These were shopping for basics, one form of exercise a day, travelling to and from work, but only where absolutely necessary, and medical needs.
The government’s guidance on circumstances in which a person may leave their home stated:
- For work, where you cannot work at home.
- Going to shops that are permitted to be open - to get things like food and medicine.
- To exercise or spend time outdoors.
- Any medical need, including to donate blood, avoid illness or injury, escape risk of harm, or to provide care or help to a vulnerable person.
No mention was made of childcare in the published guidance. Reinforcing the message, Johnson said people should not meet family members who do not live with them.
The rule on meeting family was unequivocal:
You should not be visiting family members who do not live in your home. You should keep in touch with them using phone or video calls.
Only in exceptional circumstances were people allowed to attend relatives’ addresses; for example, to drop off food or medicine to their door.
However, Dr Jenny Harries said at the daily Downing Street press briefing on 24 March that a small child could be considered “vulnerable”.
Clearly if you have adults who are unable to look after a small child, that is an exceptional circumstance. And if the individuals do not have access to care support - formal care support - or to family, they will be able to work through their local authority hubs.
Even now the lockdown rules have been relaxed slightly, visiting friends or family in their own homes is still off limits. The current guidance states: “As with before, you cannot visit friends and family in their homes.”
The government guidance also said:
We are advising those who are at increased risk of severe illness from coronavirus (Covid-19) to be particularly stringent in following social distancing measures. This group includes those who are aged 70 or older (regardless of medical conditions).
If you are showing coronavirus symptoms, or if you or any of your household are self-isolating, you should stay at home - this is critical to staying safe and saving lives.
The government’s guidance on self-isolation stated:
If you live with others and you are the first in the household to have symptoms of coronavirus (Covid-19), then you must stay at home for at least seven days, but all other household members who remain well must stay at home and not leave the house for 14 days. The 14-day period starts from the day when the first person in the house became ill.
Updated
Boris Johnson is facing calls, led vociferously by former Mirror editor Piers Morgan, to front the daily coronavirus briefing later today.
Whoever gives the press conference will undoubtedly face some awkward questions and it will be interesting to see whether they stick to the suggestion Cummings and his family travelling north was essential.
Don't you dare hide again today @BorisJohnson - front the daily briefing & tell the British public why it was one rule for them & another for your chief adviser.
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) May 23, 2020
Or be damned by your cowardice.
Updated
The health secretary Matt Hancock, who himself contracted Covid-19 and isolated for a week, is the latest cabinet minister to come out in support of parents stricken with coronavirus seeking childcare for their children.
I know how ill coronavirus makes you. It was entirely right for Dom Cummings to find childcare for his toddler, when both he and his wife were getting ill.
— Matt Hancock (@MattHancock) May 23, 2020
Hancock’s intervention comes after he said earlier this month he would back the police in any action they wish to take over Prof Neil Ferguson breaking social distancing rules by having a woman visit him at his home.
Unsurprisingly, the government’s attempts to defend Cummings – and the apparent hypocrisy exhibited in doing so – are causing growing anger among cross-party politicians.
If only you had been as quick off the mark to protect people in care homes as you have been to protect Dominic Cummings. https://t.co/DlLtOVokUr
— Wes Streeting MP (@wesstreeting) May 23, 2020
That No 10 might want to keep Cummings in post is one thing; but for Raab, Sunak and Gove to trash public trust and support for Lockdown rules in this way is absolutely breathtaking.
— Keith Brown MSP (@KeithBrownSNP) May 23, 2020
Updated
Cummings says he was 'doing the right thing' in travelling to Durham
Amid calls for his resignation after he was found to have travelled 264 miles across the country days after lockdown was imposed with his wife and child while symptomatic, Dominic Cummings has been snapped outside his home gesturing to members of the media to observe social distancing guidelines. Yes, really.
Cummings has insisted, “I behaved reasonably and legally” and when asked by reporters if his trip to Durham during lockdown looked good, said:
Who cares about good looks. It’s a question of doing the right thing. It’s not about what you guys think.
The suggestion that Cummings was “doing the right thing” echoed the defences issued on Twitter from senior cabinet ministers including Michael Gove and Dominic Raab (see 11.08am.).
The justification that breaching the lockdown rules was legitimate as it was done out of care for his wife and child has infuriated members of the public. So many people, as is pointed out by the i’s Jane Merrick, the Indy’s Ashley Cowburn and others, abided by the rules “with great inconvenience, difficulty and sadness” and are now being told that if they cared for their loved ones they would have done the same.
Genuinely amazed by this tweet by the leading Cabinet minister in charge of the CV response. It suggests the rest of us who did abide by the rules, with great inconvenience, difficulty and sadness, do not care for our children and other loved ones. https://t.co/kNNeahzRrr
— Stop socialising = save lives (@janemerrick23) May 23, 2020
Cabinet ministers suggesting caring for family is a defence for Cummings. Thousands of people across the country have been unable to help or see relatives – some in their final moments – because they were following the spirit of the coronavirus restrictions.
— Ashley Cowburn (@ashcowburn) May 23, 2020
Updated
Here is a timeline of the key events around Boris Johnson’s key adviser displaying coronavirus symptoms and journeying to County Durham during lockdown.
Updated
Downing Street’s statement on Dominic Cummings’ journey to Durham “raises more questions than it answers”, Labour has said.
In a statement, a Labour spokesman 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.
Number 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 Number 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.
Updated
Despite senior cabinet ministers publicly backing Dominic Cummings’ reasoning for supposedly breaching lockdown rules (see 11.08am.), there are suggestions that Cummings will find few defenders in the parliamentary Conservative party.
One Tory MP told the Guardian’s north of England editor, Helen Pidd, that Cummings “isn’t popular with most Tory MPs”, adding:
Cummings has few friends among rank&file Tory MPs. One tells me: “I won't be lifting a finger to defend him. 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."
— Helen Pidd (@helenpidd) May 23, 2020
This is from the FT’s Jim Pickard
Number 10 is apparently using WhatsApp to order MPs to circle the wagons and put out supportive statements to try to hold the line....
— Jim Pickard (@PickardJE) May 23, 2020
Pickard also tweeted on Friday:
I can assure you that some Tory ministers are privately taken aback, gobsmacked, outraged by this story
— Jim Pickard (@PickardJE) May 22, 2020
One Conservative minister:
— Jim Pickard (@PickardJE) May 22, 2020
“How can any government minister, or MP for that matter, ask the public to obey by the rules when the advisor most closest to the prime minister so flagrantly ignores them? It’s hard to see how he can stay based on what we know.”
Updated
Opposition MPs accuse No 10 of covering up Cummings lockdown breach
Downing Street is facing accusations of a cover-up over Dominic Cummings’ 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, Matthew Weaver writes.
Opposition parties have called for the prime minister to sack his chief adviser over the apparent lockdown breach, which was revealed in an investigation by the Guardian and the Mirror.
Downing Street repeatedly refused to answer questions from the Guardian over a number of weeks, before breaking its silence on Saturday to offer the following explanation for Cummings’ movements:
Downing Street’s first on the record response to our story that Dominic Cummings broke lockdown rules 👇🏼👇🏼 pic.twitter.com/fdPkWF95hB
— Pippa Crerar (@PippaCrerar) May 23, 2020
Durham police said on Friday that officers had “explained to the family the [lockdown] guidelines”.
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”, prompting opposition MPs to accuse Downing Street of trying to suppress the story.
Full report here:
Updated
Cummings was 'unwise' to travel from London to Durham during lockdown, police say
The acting Durham police and crime commissioner, Steve White has issued an official statement in which he said Dominic Cummings’ travelling to Durham when known to be infected was “most unwise”. The statement reads:
In relation to the incident where Dominic Cummings visited Durham during lockdown Durham Constabulary acted appropriately.
Given the whole ethos of the guidance and regulations issued from the Government was to reduce the spread, regardless of reason, by travelling to County Durham when known to be infected was most unwise. 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.
Incidents such as this do not help, and I can appreciate that the longer this goes on the harder it gets, but I encourage the people of County Durham and Darlington to keep up the outstanding effort seen so far by using common sense when following the guidance to stay alert and continue to social distance.
No 10 earlier put out a statement backing Cummings (see 10.25am), which said:
At no stage was he or his family spoken to by the police about this matter, as is being reported.
My colleague Matthew Weaver wrote on Friday, “When asked if Cummings had been warned [by police] about breaching the lockdown, a spokesman for Durham Constabulary 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.
Updated
Cabinet members defend PM's key adviser over lockdown breach
A number of Conservative politicians, including senior cabinet ministers, have defended Dominic Cummings’ actions on Twitter this morning.
Downing Street has said Cummings believes he “behaved reasonably and legally” when travelling from his London home to Country Durham during the lockdown (see 10.25am.).
Michael Gove, the Cabinet Office minister, said it was “not a crime” to care for your wife and child.
Caring for your wife and child is not a crime https://t.co/YCXWhKTq28
— Michael Gove (@michaelgove) May 23, 2020
The first secretary of state, Dominic Raab, said an explanation had been provided and that the issue of a sick couple needing help with childcare was being “politicised”.
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. https://t.co/fvfvPmlccQ
— Dominic Raab (@DominicRaab) May 23, 2020
Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, tweeted that “trying to score political points” against somebody “taking care of your wife and young child” was not reasonable:
Taking care of your wife and young child is justifiable and reasonable, trying to score political points over it isn’t. https://t.co/QVkFmKgOsW
— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) May 23, 2020
And the chair of the Commons education committee, Robert Halfon, wrote:
Ill couple drive 260+ miles to ensure that their small child can be looked after properly. In some quarters this is regarded as crime of the century. Is this really the kind of country we are?
— Robert Halfon MP -Working Hard for Harlow- (@halfon4harlowMP) May 23, 2020
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Britons abiding by the government’s lockdown measures have slammed the “hypocrisy” of the prime minister’s chief adviser following reports he travelled to his parents’ home despite coronavirus travel restrictions.
Police have confirmed they attended a property in County Durham after it emerged that Dominic Cummings travelled more than 260 miles from his London home during the lockdown Boris Johnson had just announced with his wife and child, while the former was suspected to have contracted the virus.
Members of the public are piling pressure on Downing Street to sack him.
Some Twitter users said they had not left their home to see their family since February, while others said the reports were making their “blood boil”.
One user, who gave his name as Tony, tweeted that he was unable to hug his father at his mother’s funeral, saying he was “frankly appalled”. He said:
The lack of care or thought for other people in not following the necessary guidelines to ‘flatten the curve’ by someone who was self-proclaiming their infection with the virus. The hypocrisy is unbelievable.
Another user, Katie Hall from Yorkshire, said:
I’m 5 miles from my shielding parents ... we’ve only seen them at a distance to drop off food ... my children haven’t seen them at all apart from digitally ... the ‘he was with his parents’ stuff is making my blood boil.
The public has been asked to follow restrictions since they were brought in on 23 March, which has kept many people apart from loved ones for months.
User Rachel Kerry, tweeted:
My Dad died at Easter. I couldn’t go to see him to say goodbye, couldn’t go to comfort my Mum and there were four of us, socially distancing, at his funeral so couldn’t even hold my Mum’s hand. Why is DC so f****** special?!
Another user, Johanna Saunders, wrote:
My Dad has lung cancer, I haven’t seen him since February, that’s a very long time to not see someone with a deadly disease, especially when he only lives about 10 minutes down the road.
— Johanna Saunders ⚫️🕷🏴🐟🌊 (@JohannaSaunders) May 23, 2020
The arrogance and sheer disdain shown by #DominicCummings and the #Johnsons is mind blowing.
Others hit out at the fact that Cummings displayed coronavirus symptoms “over the weekend” of 28 March, and questioned why the public should continue following restrictions.
User Nat Reed tweeted:
My parents, in their late 70’s, have been tested in the last week, as have I. All were negative and they live less than an hour away.
I haven’t seen them since February and am still fighting all my instincts that say to jump in the car but beginning to wonder why!
Updated
In more upbeat news, the children’s author Michael Rosen has left intensive care after eight weeks in hospital, and continues his recovery on the ward.
His wife, Emma-Louise Williams, has been updating fans on the former children’s laureate’s condition on Twitter, though she has not confirmed if his condition is related to Covid-19.
Today Michael @MichaelRosenYes has been in hospital for 8 weeks & I'm v happy to say he left ICU yesterday after a long & difficult 47 days.His recovery is continuing on the Ward & will take time. He has done so well to get through this but please don't expect him back here yet❤️
— Emma-Louise Williams (@Underthecranes) May 23, 2020
Updated
No 10 backs Dominic Cummings, saying travel was 'essential' as it was for childcare
Amid accusations from Opposition MPs of a cover-up about what was known by whom about Dominic Cummings’ lockdown travels and calls for the top aide to resign, No 10 has issued its first official response, maintaining that “his actions were in line with coronavirus guidelines” and Cummings “believes he acted legally and responsibly”.
This is from the Mirror’s Pippa Crerar, who broke the story with the Guardian’s Matthew Weaver
Downing Street’s first on the record response to our story that Dominic Cummings broke lockdown rules 👇🏼👇🏼 pic.twitter.com/fdPkWF95hB
— Pippa Crerar (@PippaCrerar) May 23, 2020
So he admits he travelled to Durham *before* he was ill with coronavirus - or needed childcare.
— Pippa Crerar (@PippaCrerar) May 23, 2020
He felt it was “highly likely” that he’d get the disease since wife had it.
But that’s not necessarily the case. You can be holed up for 14 days with patient & not suffer at all.
Also, even if he didn’t have symptoms, his wife absolutely did. And the Government advice states that if any member of your family has symptoms, you must self-isolate at home. Not jump straight into a car and travel 260 miles to the other end of the country.
— Pippa Crerar (@PippaCrerar) May 23, 2020
No 10 also appears to be suggesting that @DurhamPolice is lying - and that they didn’t talk to his family as we reported.
— Pippa Crerar (@PippaCrerar) May 23, 2020
But the police said: “Officers explained to the family the guidelines around self-isolation and reiterated the appropriate advice around essential travel”.
Police have confirmed they attended a property in County Durham after it emerged that Cummings, Boris Johnson’s chief adviser, travelled more than 260 miles from his London home during the lockdown.
And this is from the BBC’s Nick Robinson
This is the case for the defence of Dominic Cummings - he was protecting his family. Many already saying, however, that they were told that caring for their families by visiting them or travelling long distances was against the rules if not actually a crime https://t.co/O0itSpBqP8
— Nick Robinson (@bbcnickrobinson) May 23, 2020
Updated
Here is some reaction from Twitter about the Dominic Cummings story
From the FT’s Jim Pickard
there are millions of people who have been unable to visit their parents, attend the funerals of elderly relatives, and they will be incredulous
— Jim Pickard (@PickardJE) May 22, 2020
One Conservative minister:
— Jim Pickard (@PickardJE) May 22, 2020
“How can any government minister, or MP for that matter, ask the public to obey by the rules when the advisor most closest to the prime minister so flagrantly ignores them? It’s hard to see how he can stay based on what we know.”
A thread from ITV’s Robert Peston
Cummings's explanation to his colleagues for why he apparently broke the lockdown is pretty extraordinary. When he and his wife Mary went down with Covid-19, they feared they would not be well enough to look after their small boy. So Cummings, already ill, drove them all... https://t.co/0ef4vD5Vbk
— Robert Peston (@Peston) May 22, 2020
A thread from HuffPost’s Paul Waugh
New detail re DC sister offering to "help with childcare" is interesting...last night it was claimed "Cummings went to stay with his parents so they could help with childcare while he and his wife were ill".
— Paul Waugh (@paulwaugh) May 23, 2020
Does the sister live with the parents?
Proof a fuller explanation needed https://t.co/iwEm0b4DIi
From Business Insider’s Adam Bienkov
Worth pointing out that Downing Street were asked on pretty much a daily basis what Dominic Cummings’ situation was while he was sick and all they would say was he had been “in contact” with them and wouldn’t answer any further questions.
— Adam Bienkov (@AdamBienkov) May 23, 2020
Updated
Ian Blackford, the SNP’s Westminster leader, said the prime minister had “serious questions” to answer regarding what he knew about Dominic Cummings’ lockdown trip to Country Durham.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Blackford said:
I think what should have happened by now is that Dominic Cummings should have gone.
What I find interesting ... is that (according to some reports) 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.
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.
He branded the alleged actions the “height of irresponsibility for someone to think this is a reasonable course of action”, and added:
Here we have the highest official in government, the closest confidant of the prime minister prepared to break the rules that the rest of us are being asked to obey.
You cannot have a situation where there appears to be one rule for the powerful and the millions of the rest of the public are being told we must follow government advice. Demonstrably, this is an individual who has broken the advice he has been, in many cases, the architect of delivering.
Blackford said Cummings’ alleged actions were “more serious breaches” than rule-breaking carried out by UK government adviser Prof Neil Ferguson and Scotland’s former chief medical officer Catherine Calderwood, both of whom resigned for their breaches.
Updated
Boris Johnson under pressure to sack Dominic Cummings over lockdown breach
Good morning. Boris Johnson is facing mounting pressure to sack his closest aide following reports he breached lockdown rules in March.
A joint investigation by the Guardian and Mirror newspapers revealed that police spoke to Dominic Cummings, the prime minister’s key adviser, after he visited his parents’ home in Durham, 264 miles from his London home while he had coronavirus symptoms in late March.
Cummings and his wife, who was also experiencing symptoms, stayed with his parents while self-isolating. A source close to Cummings denied a breach of the coronavirus rules to the BBC, saying the couple needed childcare help. They added that the couple had stayed in a separate building at the property.
Only days earlier, the government had told the public to avoid all non-essential travel, to not meet family members who do not live with them, and to stay at home – with fines in places for those who broke the rules – and both Boris Johnson and the health secretary, Matt Hancock, had tested positive for Covid-19. Anyone with coronavirus symptoms was also instructed to self-isolate at home and not to leave the house for seven days - even for essential supplies. The prime minister had also said clearly that children should not be left with grandparents or older relatives “who may be particularly vulnerable or fall into some of the vulnerable groups”.
Labour demanded No 10 “to provide a very swift explanation for his actions”. The party’s vice chair, Tulip Sadiq, 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. Number 10 needs to provide a very swift explanation for his actions.
The acting leader of the Liberal Democrats, Ed Davey, tweeted:
If Dominic Cummings has broken the lockdown guidelines he will have to resign. It’s as simple as that.
And Ian Blackford, the Scottish National party’s Westminster leader, said:
Dominic Cummings’ position is completely untenable – he must resign or be sacked.
But a source close to Cummings said there is “zero chance” he will resign.
Cummings is the latest high-profile figure to have broken the government’s lockdown rules. Prof Neil Ferguson, whose epidemiological modelling helped shape the lockdown policy, resigned in early May when it was revealed that he flouted the rules to receive visits from his lover at his home. And Scotland’s chief medical officer, Catherine Calderwood, had to go after it emerged in early April that she visited her second home twice despite her own advice to the public to avoid all non-essential travel.
I’ll be bringing you all the latest UK developments on the coronavirus pandemic throughout the day, so please feel free to get in touch with any news tips, advice, comments or suggestions.
Email: lucy.campbell@theguardian.com
Twitter: @lucy_campbell_
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