May 2020. The prime minister’s chief adviser Dominic Cummings has said he does not regret driving 260 miles from London during the coronavirus lockdown. He revealed he had not told Boris Johnson when he decided to take his family to County Durham after his wife developed Covid-19 symptoms. Mr Cummings said he believed he had acted “reasonably” and within the law. Mr Johnson said he understood “the confusion, anger and pain” felt and people “needed to hear” from his aide. He added that Mr Cummings had acted “reasonably” and with “integrity and care for others”, but Labour and the Liberal Democrats accused both men of double standards. Mr Cummings has faced several days of attacks in the media, with many people, including some Conservative MPs, calling for him to go. Speaking in a press conference in the Downing Street rose garden – requested by the prime minister – he said he wanted to “clear up the confusions and misunderstandings”. He added that, despite days of criticism in the press, he had not considered resigning, saying: “I don’t regret what I did.” Many want the Scalp of Cummings, he is seen as the architect of Brexit, and more to the point, he is seen as a Threat to the Establishment with his efforts to cut the Dead Wood out of the Civil Service and get it to work. I want to see the man continue to do his work.
May 2020. Dominic Cummings
