Chief nurse Ruth May ‘dropped from coronavirus press conference after refusing to back Boris Johnson’s aide Dominic Cummings over alleged lockdown breaches on Durham trip’
- May asked her views and blocked from appearing after declining to support aide
- Cummings admitted driving 260 miles from London to Durham in March
- But he has so far refused to resign after backing from ministers
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
England’s top nurse was dropped from a Downing Street coronavirus press conference after refusing to support Dominic Cummings after he broke lockdown rules.
Ruth May, the Chief Nursing Officer for England, was asked her views on the controversy surrounding the powerful Downing Street apparatchik and was blocked from appearing on TV after declining to support him.
Mr Cummings has so far seen off attempts to get him to quit as Boris Johnson‘s chief of staff after he admitted driving 260 miles from London to his family estate in Durham while his wife was ill.
The journey in late March was in apparent contradiction to the lockdown rules at the time but No 10 has continued to insist that he did nothing wrong.
Police said his 260-mile trip to Durham did not break lockdown rules – and a 60-mile jaunt to a beauty spot only ‘might have’.
Now it has emerged that in the wake of the revelation last month Ms May told Downing Street officials she could not condone his actions if asked on live television. and was pulled from a broadcast.
An NHS source told the Independent:A No 10 spad (special adviser) asked her directly how she would answer the Dominic Cummings question and she refused to play along and told them she would answer the same way as Jonathan Van-Tam. She was dropped immediately from the press briefing.’
Taking the nightly Downing Street press conference this evening, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: ‘I don’t think it’s true, she has attended them many times before.’
Ruth May was asked her views on the controversy surrounding the powerful Downing Street apparatchik and was blocked from appearing on TV after declining to support him
Mr Cummings has so far seen off attempts to get him to quit as Boris Johnson’s chief of staff after he admitted driving 260 miles from London to his family estate in Durham while his wife was ill
Taking the nightly Downing Street press conference this evening, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: ‘I don’t think it’s true, she has attended them many times before’
Dr Van-Tam, the deputy chief medical officer, has not been seen at a Downing Street press conference since the end of last month when he was asked whether people in authority, like Mr Cummings, should give a lead and obey the rules.
‘Thank you for the question and I’m quite happy to answer it,’ he said. ‘In my opinion, the rules are clear and they have always been clear. In my opinion, they are for the benefit of all and in my opinion they apply to all.’
Mr Cummings had days earlier refused to apologise for driving 260 miles to Durham during the coronavirus lockdown as he claimed he had always behaved ‘reasonably and legally’.
Mr Cummings said his decision to travel to the city to stay in a cottage on his parents’ land was the result of a ‘very complicated, tricky situation’ as he admitted he had not sought Boris Johnson’s permission to make the journey at the end of March.
The Vote Leave maverick has faced accusations of ‘double standards’, with the nation having been instructed to stay at home, but he told an unprecedented press conference in the Number 10 Rose Garden: ‘I don’t regret what I did… I think what I did was reasonable in the circumstances.’
Ruth May (pictured) begged the nation to stick to the coronavirus lockdown rules as she spoke at the daily Downing Street briefing in April
He said he had concluded on Friday March 27 that if both he and his wife became ill their son could be looked after by his sister or nieces. He then drove to Durham, arriving at midnight, not stopping on the way.
He developed coronavirus symptoms the next day and the family continued to isolate before on April 2 Mr Cummings’ son became unwell and was taken to hospital. Mr Cummings picked up his wife and son the next day and did not leave the car.
On Sunday April 12 the family went for a test drive to Barnard Castle to make sure he was fit enough to make the journey to London. They parked and walked 15 metres to the river, did not come into close contact with anyone, and then left.
Ms May’s last appearance at a press conference was on April 10 – while Mr Cummings was in County Durham.
She used the appearance to plead with the country to stay at home over the Easter weekend in order to save thousands of lives.