What has Dominic Cummings got on Boris Johnson?
How on earth could the PM brazenly claim his chief aide didn’t break coronavirus rules by driving 260 miles to his parents, when he and his wife were going down with the virus?
Lying comes easily to Johnson and his arrogant associate is at best evasive, but what is most remarkable is that neither of them seems to care about the public hostility this has aroused.
Millions who do the right thing and follow the rules are incandescent.
The lockdown is instrumental in controlling the spread of the virus, but it’s being
undermined by the selfishness of Cummings and arrogance of Johnson. It seems there’s one law for a privileged circle in Downing Street and another for the 99.999%.
This whole affair destroys the myth, peddled by Johnson, that we are all in this together. We want the truth. But there is a problem. Johnson is a stranger to the truth.
Unfair tactics
British Airways is a distinguished national carrier but risks alienating loyal staff and passengers by using the crisis to impose far-reaching changes.
The tactic, when taxpayers are picking up bills for the wages of many of the workforce, feels against the spirit of a furloughing scheme intended to mothball, not axe, jobs.
Exploiting the relative powerlessness of workers unable to threaten strikes is a short-term tactic risking a long-term backlash.
The Unite union is turning up the rhetoric as it prepares for an industrial and legal battle.
BA and other airlines face huge challenges but this is a moment to seek co-operation, not gamble on confrontation.
Tattoo silly
Vera in the eponymous TV detective series isn’t who David Beckham had in mind when he dressed up in country gear.
Then again Brenda Blethyn who plays DCI Vera Stanhope, might be less than flattered to be compared to a vain, tattooed ex-footballer.
