Under-fire Dominic Cummings tonight blasted press waiting outside his home for not social distancing shortly after he was given Boris Johnson‘s backing over claims he twice broke the government’s lockdown rules.
The Prime Minister’s top aide, who faces calls to resign over claims he travelled between London and Durham while the country was in lockdown, told a scrum of journalists, photographers and camera operators ‘you should stick to the rules’ as he returned to his London home tonight.
It follows similar scenes earlier today in which he was seen wafting a black folder in the direction of a pack of journalists as he tried to leave his home.
This evening’s incident comes after Mr Cummings made a five hour visit to Downing Street earlier today, which culminated in Mr Johnson publicly backing his key man during an extraordinary press briefing at Number 10 this afternoon.
Under-fire Dominic Cummings tonight blasted press waiting outside his home for not social distancing shortly after he was given Boris Johnson’s backing over claims he twice broke the government’s lockdown rules
The Prime Minister’s top aide also faced criticism from neighbours and members of the public outside his London home
Mr Cummings had earlier waved a black folder in the direction of journalists as he tried to leave his home today
But Mr Cummings also faced more than just camera crews on his return tonight, with angry neighbours determined to heckle him with their grievances over his controversial 260-mile trip from London to Durham during lockdown.
Mr Cummings returned home this evening following a dramatic press conference in Downing Street, in which the Prime Minister claimed his chief aide had acted ‘responsibly, legally and with integrity’ while making a controversial 260-mile trip from London to Durham during lockdown.
Mr Johnson insisted Mr Cummings had ‘followed the instincts of every father’ by driving to his parents’ farm after his wife developed symptoms of coronavirus.
But he refused to deny that while in the North East, Mr Cummings had also driven 30 miles to go for a walk in the countryside in an apparent second lockdown breach.
And he failed to say whether he had given Mr Cummings permission for the Durham trip – or offer any apology for his most senior aide’s behaviour.
The Prime Minister’s unscheduled appearance at the press conference came after crisis talks in Downing Street lasting two hours.
Boris Johnson (pictured) was facing a furious Tory backlash at all levels of his party last night after he attempted to mount an extraordinary defence of Dominic Cummings
At a dramatic press conference in Downing Street, the Prime Minister claimed his chief aide (pictured) had acted ‘responsibly, legally and with integrity’ while making a controversial 260-mile trip from London to Durham during lockdown
Eleven Conservative MPs had earlier broken ranks and publicly called for Mr Cummings to be forced to depart the government machine.
However, it became clear last night that Mr Johnson’s comments had only fuelled the affair, which critics fear will damage the reputation of the government and wreck public support for the lockdown rules.
That anger reached Cabinet level yesterday, with ministers – some of whom were ordered to publicly support for Mr Cummings on Saturday – growing uneasy over the mounting allegations.
One ministerial source said the affair risked torpedoing public trust in the government at a time of national crisis. ‘You can lose popularity, you cannot lose trust,’ the minister said.
Another warned the PM was ‘bleeding credibility’ to protect an aide who had delivered both the Brexit referendum result and his stunning election win last year.
One senior minister branded Mr Cummings an ‘arrogant idiot’, adding: ‘The fact that he is still there just shows how dysfunctional No 10 is. I am being bombarded with emails from constituents who are angry that while they have been making these incredible sacrifices and not seeing family, he’s just done whatever he wants. It is breathtaking that the PM is defending him.’
The senior Tory MP Simon Hoare, who had earlier called for Mr Cummings to go, said after the press conference: ‘The PM’s performance posed more questions than it answered. Any residual hope that this might die away in the next 24 hours is lost.’
New Tory MP David Warburton added: ‘As much as I despise any baying pitchfork-led trials by social media, I’m unconvinced by the PM’s defence of Cummings.’
Mr Cummings’ wife Mary Wakefield (pictured outside their home today) was ill with coronavirus when they travelled north
Blackpool North MP Paul Maynard said: ‘It is a classic case of ‘do as I say, not as I do’- and it is not as if he was unfamiliar with guidance he himself helped draw up. It seems to me to be utterly indefensible and his position wholly untenable.’ Veteran Tory Sir Roger Gale said: ‘I’m very disappointed, I think it was an opportunity to put this to bed and I fear that now the story is simply going to run and run.’
Some of the government’s scientific advisors also weighed in last night, with Professor Stephen Reicher saying: ‘In a few short minutes tonight, Boris Johnson has trashed all the advice we have given on how to build trust and secure adherence to the measures necessary to control COVID-19.’
And in a fresh blow last night, Mr Cummings was facing the possibility of a police inquiry into his 30-mile trip to Barnard Castle to take a family walk on his wife’s birthday on April 12.
Retired chemistry teacher Robin Lees, who spotted him, last night told the Guardian he had reported the matter to Durham Police.
Earlier, Durham’s former chief constable Mike Barton said Mr Cummings ‘broke the law’ by travelling to stay in the area during lockdown.
The PM decided to throw a protective arm around Mr Cummings after crisis talks with his mercurial adviser, in Number.
Attempting to draw a line under the affair, the PM said Mr Cummings had acted ‘with the overwhelming aim of stopping the spread of the virus and saving lives’.
Mr Johnson said his adviser had ‘followed the instincts of every father and every parent’ in travelling to a place where he could get help caring for his four-year-old son if he and wife came down with the virus at the same time.
The row comes at the start of a critical week for the PM in which he is expected to announce plans for easing the lockdown.
On Wednesday he is due to face a grilling from senior MPs, which now looks set to be dominated by questions about his judgment over his aide’s behaviour.
Mr Johnson last night denied that Mr Cummings was guilty of double standards, saying he had faced ‘very severe child care difficulties’ that could only be resolved by leaving his home in London and taking his family to Durham.
His wife Mary developed symptoms of the virus in late March and the couple feared they might be unable to care for their young son if Mr Cummings also came down with the illness, which he later did.
The family stayed on a property at the farm owned by Mr Cummings parents. In the event they did not need help with child care but did receive food deliveries from his sister while they were isolating for 14 days.
The decision to travel hundreds of miles while his wife was ill appeared to break government rules telling families they must stay at home for 14 days as soon as a member of the household develops symptoms.
Mr Johnson said: ‘I have concluded that in travelling to find the right kind of childcare, at the moment when both he and his wife were about to be incapacitated by coronavirus – and when he had no alternative – I think he followed the instincts of every father and every parent.
And I do not mark him down for that.’ No 10 yesterday denied claims in the Mirror that Mr Cummings had made a second visit to Durham after returning to work in No 10.
Mr Johnson said ‘some’ of the allegations made about Mr Cummings in recent days were ‘palpably false’ But sources did not deny that the family had driven 30 miles to walk at Castle Barnard on Easter Sunday when ministers were telling people to stay at home to save lives.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer called for an inquiry, and warned that failure to sack him would ‘undermine confidence’ in the lockdown.
‘It is an insult to sacrifices made by the British people that Boris Johnson has chosen to take no action against Dominic Cummings,’ he said.
‘The public will be forgiven for thinking there is one rule for the Prime Minister’s closest adviser and another for the British people.’
Nicola Sturgeon, who forced out her chief scientific adviser for breaking lockdown rules, said: ‘I know it is tough to lose a trusted adviser at the height of crisis, but when it’s a choice of that or integrity of vital public health advice, the latter must come first.’