Dominic Cummings has said he has ‘no regrets’ about the way he acted by breaching lock-down rules by driving over 250 miles from his home in London to his parents’ property near Durham.
In the face of calls from across the political spectrum for him to resign, Cummings admitted that he did make the journey north to another property but maintain that he has nothing to apologise for. He also admitted driving to Barnard Castle, where he had been seen by members of the public, but claimed that the trip was a ‘test’ for his health before driving back to London. Whilst at Barnard Castle he said that the family did get out of the car and sit by the river despite clear government guidance against such trips.
The PM’s chief aide said he made no effort to ask friends or family in London whether they could look after his young son if both he and his wife fell ill with Covid-19 as his nieces in Durham had already offered.
Neither Cummings nor Downing Street would confirm that he had made the trip at all until the story was published in the Guardian and Mirror last week despite multiple requests from journalists from April.
Cummings also admitted that he had informed Boris Johnson that he had made the trip to Durham in early April but denied he made a second trip back to Durham on 19 April after he had restarted working at Downing Street.
PCC of Durham has asked the chief constable to conduct a full inquiry into Dominic Cummings visit to the area and says there is a “plethora of additional information” in the public domain which deserves investigation about his actions.
Meanwhile, the Bishop of Manchester said the Church of England will no longer work with the government if Dominic Cummings does not show contrition and is sacked from Downing Street and at least one NHS doctor has threatened to quit over the hypocrisy of his actions.
