Downing Street briefing: Prime Minister Boris Johnson defends Dominic Cummings' lockdown travel to North East saying aide acted 'responsibly and legally'

The Prime Minister has given his backing to his chief-of-staff Dominic Cummings following allegations he breached lockdown restrictions.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Speaking at the daily Downing Street coronavirus briefing, Boris Johnson said Mr Cummings had "acted responsibly, legally and with integrity".

Conservative MPs had been calling for Mr Johnson to dispense with Mr Cummings after it emerged he had travelled 260 miles to County Durham in March to self-isolate with his family while official guidelines warned against long-distance journeys.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Further reports also suggested he took a second trip to the North East in April, having already returned to London.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson.  Photo by PA.Prime Minister Boris Johnson.  Photo by PA.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Photo by PA.

Mr Cummings denied the fresh allegations and Mr Johnson announced he would be standing by his most senior aide.

Leading the Government press conference for the third time since being discharged from hospital on April 12, Mr Johnson said he could "not mark down" Mr Cummings for the way he acted.

The PM said: "I have had extensive face-to-face conversations with Dominic Cummings and 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.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"Though there have been many other allegations about what happened when he was in self-isolation and thereafter, some of them palpably false, I believe that in every respect he has acted responsibly and legally and with integrity and with the overwhelming aim of stopping the spread of the virus and saving lives."

Over the weekend, Number 10 admitted Mr Cummings had driven from his London home to the North East in March after his wife started displaying Covid-19 symptoms, becoming fearful there would be no-one to look after his four-year-old child if he also took ill.

But according to reports, the former Vote Leave campaign co-ordinator made a second trip to Durham and was seen there on April 19 - five days after being photographed on his return to Westminster.

A second witness told the papers they saw him a week earlier in Barnard Castle on Easter Sunday, a popular tourist location 30 miles from Durham, during the period he was believed to be self-isolating.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The reports convinced Tory MP and former minister Steve Baker to break ranks and call for Mr Cummings to be dismissed.

Other senior Tories, including Peter Bone and ex-immigration minister Caroline Nokes, also spoke out against Mr Cummings.

Scotland's leader, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, had also encouraged Mr Johnson to dismiss Mr Cummings before the press conference, having had experience herself of having to fire a close aide for breaking lockdown rules.

Catherine Calderwood resigned as Scotland's chief medical officer after pictures emerged of her twice visiting her holiday home after restrictions had been put in place.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

But despite the calls for Mr Cummings to be removed from his post, The Prime Minister has continued to back Mr Cummings.

Mr Johnson said he deemed his actions "sensible and defensible".

Mr Cummings, speaking outside his London home on Sunday before travelling to see the PM at No 10, denied allegations he journeyed a second time to Durham after his return to work on April 14.

After one journalist asked if he had travelled back to Durham in April, he replied: "No, I did not."

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Mr Johnson also said at the briefing that the intention was for primary schools in England to open more widely on June 1, but acknowledged it "may not be possible" for all schools.

He also said that it was planned that on June 15 for secondary schools would provide some contact for year 10 and year 12 students to help them to prepare for exams next year.

Meanwhile NHS England medical director Stephen Powis has said there has been a fall in critically ill people in intensive care units since April.

He went on to say that compared to last week there has been a fall in the number of people in hospital with Covid-19, falling from 10,085 to 8,951 over seven days.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world.

But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper.

Thank you.