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The police said they spoke to him
No 10 says the police didn’t speak to him
Someone is lying
There is no way in the world he will be sacked, he is untouchable
I'm finding this pretty much as depressing as anything else that's happened over the last few years, if I'm honest.
I don't know where we go when it's as blatant as this, and nothing, but nothing, changes...
As wrong as I think he was to have undertaken the trip, to have put other member of his family at risk and to increase the risk of spreading the virus around the country, he and the tories will spin it to say it was essential. We cannot prove he had no other option but to undertake the journey so his child could be looked after.
Its wrong on so many counts, but Boris will just be able to say it was essential and he had no choice.
The government message was/is that we shouldn't be putting our children into contact with their grandparents. Personally, visiting parents would have helped us out immeasurably to have them help look after the kids, the wife is a teacher and I work from home. We've also all been ill with the virus during the lockdown, but we never once thought we needed to drive 250 miles to visit family whilst we were ill. He should be fired, but being the slimy kind of guy he and Boris are, they will get away with it. He also think it is reasonable behaviour to drive 250 miles whilst being ill with the virus, he thinks it is reasonable to put his parents and Durham locals at risk.
No fan of the Tories, Johnson or Cummings, but am I the only person thinking that the calls to resign are OTT, and a sad feature of modern politics, being nothing more than a rather spurious excuse to get rid of someone we either don't like or whose performance we dont rate?
EDIT: And the correct behaviour is for him to throw his hands up, admit he's cocked up apologise and say he'll do better.
Same as I would have expected to happen to Neil Ferguson
(I am fully expecting to be the only person voicing this opinion).
You won’t be the only person. Plenty of others will be nice and deferential as well.
Anyway, they’re sending the currently quite popular challenger chancellor out to bat…
https://twitter.com/welshgasdoc/status/1264153611518476289?s=21
Vinnyeh, my opinion is that if the government and top officials flout the regulations, you are creating a two tiered system. You cannot have one set of rules for the "top brass" and one for the riff raff. If laws were put in place to stop the spread of the virus, those laws have to apply to everyone.
You won’t be the only person. Plenty of others will be nice and deferential as well.
Not being nice and deferential. Obviously deserves some punishment, a weekend spent disinfecting tube carriages or something, but not a sacking offence
Vinnyeh, my opinion is that if the government and top officials flout the regulations, you are creating a two tiered system. You cannot have one set of rules for the “top brass” and one for the riff raff. If laws were put in place to stop the spread of the virus, those laws have to apply to everyone.
You're advocating a two tiered system. I wouldn't get sacked. Those laws make provision for punishment.
am I the only person thinking that the calls to resign are OTT
Pretty much, yes.
He's been the one calling the shots on the government policy from day one. So it was he who was responsible for setting the rules on lockdown about what people were and weren't allowed to do.
He then flagrantly ignored these very rules, because, you know... obviously they don't actually apply to him.
If rules on movement were applicable to anyone, then it is most certainly to somebody who was displaying all the symptoms, which he was at the time. By his own rules, he should have been self-isolating for 2 weeks. But he drove 250 miles instead.
If that's not a cause for resignation, then I don't know what is?
He won't resign, of course. They are above the law and just do what the hell they like. The rules don't apply to them, just to us little people
And the correct behaviour is for him to throw his hands up, admit he’s cocked up apologise and say he’ll do better.
The problem being that there is zero chance that Cummings will do this over anything, so the only option for the no.10 machine, and the likes of Rishi Sunak is to try to attack his detractors for making political capital over a simple man caring for his family. By driving the length of the country with Covid to live with his elderly parents.
Matt Hancock says he backs any police action against Neil Ferguson....
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/06/neil-ferguson-right-to-resign-for-breaking-lockdown-rules-says-minister-coronavirus
but thinks Dom did nothing wrong
https://twitter.com/MattHancock/status/1264162359733555202
Shocking by LauraK as well. Just flagrant spokespersonning for Tory HQ
Cummings has clearly sent them all an email with a prepared statement.
What a set of maggots they are.
Remember when the BBC used to have a reputation for independent and impartial journalism?
At the moment they've about as much credibility as Fox News or Russia Today
Cummings has clearly sent them all an email with a prepared statement.
he sent round this and told them to pick one
Love how ‘sources’ yesterday can claim the grandparents were needed for childcare, and then, after thinking about it, the official response (be under no doubt, from the exact same source really) can claim it was the sister who was going to look after the virus spreading infant. That is why the ‘no10 source’ line that LK and so many others use is so dangerous. They can change their story (rebase their lies) with plausibly deniability. It really stinks to high heaven.
Vinneyeh, I’ve actually got some sympathy for your view, in the round.
And I’d felt the same when several other (decent, apolitical) public servants flouted the rules, Neil Ferguson and Dr Calderwood specifically.
But they went, probably pushed for political expedience, and likely the wider health effort suffered as a result.
If those guys went, then there is no doubt Dom needs to go too. For consistency.
Then you layer on his role in setting the rules and sitting on the SAGE committee making him one of the most aware in the country of the purpose of the rules to limit spread of the virus. Then add in the financial and other benefits available to him as a result of his role that would make self-isolating far easier for him than for many.
He really, really has to go.
Have written to my MP this morning (first time ever) making the point.
As I mentioned on the CV thread, the stories are now getting nicely muddled up (he was spoken to by police / he ws not, he was at his parent's / he was in another house in their grounds blah blah), the heavies have been sent in to bat for him including the despicable Laura K - basically a Tory spokesperson in disguise, there's a whole load of clamour about resignation whcih is probably hiding something equally awful somewhere else - maybe Priti Stupid is just passing another load of rascist xenophobic law to kick out more immigrants or something.
Also, I'm not sure we want him sacked. At least at the moment we know where he is - chief political aide to the PM - but if he's "sacked" he'll just be doing the same job with even less oversight and transparency then there is at the moment (and that's saying soemthing becaue at the moment, he's effectively running the country via use of a Puppet PM).
This is the guy who orchestrated one of the biggest pieces of electoral fraud in history with Brexit and faced zero consequences even though it is openly admitted that it is illegal. Fairly sure he can weasel his way out of this without even breaking sweat.
They really are a bunch of the nastiest most self-centred scum imaginable. Even George Orwell didn't make the pigs this bad in Animal Farm!
Fairly sure he can weasel his way out of this without even breaking sweat.
This is a man who was found to be in contempt of parliament for refusing to appear before a parliamentary committee investigating his electoral fraud.
He has very good reason for acting like the rules don't apply to him. They never have done in the past. The arrogance and entitlement of this lot is breathtaking. They just think they can do what the hell they like with absolutely zero accountability
If Calderwood and Ferguson had not been thrown under the bus, then I might not be quite so virulent in my calls for his head.
But he was happy for it to happen to them, for arguably less serious rule breaches, so then he has to go.
Even my Brexit frothing Tory voting parents think he should quit, and if he doesn't, Boris should sack him. Apparently this is the first test of Boris's leadership 🙄
Given that plod were stopping the very few cars on motorways at that time how did he get through?
Considering the M1 seemed to become a public racetrack for the duration of the "hard" lockdown I must disagree with this statement.
Of course its a sacking offense! How on earth anyone can think otherwise is beyond me. Absolutely clear breach of the guidelines covered up badly
Edit - apart from anything else its bad politics and will be used against the tories over and over again. He will be gone in a few days is my bet
Not being nice and deferential. Obviously deserves some punishment, a weekend spent disinfecting tube carriages or something, but not a sacking offence
You think?
The one burning issue of the moment is CV19, minimising it's spread and thus the likelihood of subsequent deaths.
To that end the government, the body Cummings "advises" set out rules and legislation for widespread social isolation as well as home quarantine for anyone displaying symptoms.
He broke most of those those rules. Cummings position should bring with it a greater burden of responsibility to be seen to be complying with the rules. Therefore his actions send the message to those who might already be wavering that lockdown does not matter and you can essentially ignore pretty much all of the measures.
By extension then his actions have in some measure endanger UK citizens lives and he should pay a proportionate price. His highly prized job would be an appropriate sanction in my view.
I have no faith in the current government, but the idea of Cummings staying in post would just cause me to double down on my general distain for for them...
The despicable Laura K has been a Tory mouthpiece for quite some time. It's probably a result of talking out of the side of her wonky mouth. She's an odious person.
He will be gone in a few days is my bet
I'll take that bet Uncle Jezzer
Are we having our usual pastry/cake related wager? What timescale are we putting on it? A week?
OK binners - by the end of the week for tasty baked goodness 🙂
How on earth are Laura K and the BBC siding with the Tories? Where has that nonsense come from?
(I am fully expecting to be the only person voicing this opinion).
There will be one or two others along no doubt.
No fan of the Tories, Johnson or Cummings, but am I the only person thinking that the calls to resign are OTT, and a sad feature of modern politics, being nothing more than a rather spurious excuse to get rid of someone we either don’t like or whose performance we dont rate?
Live by the sword. Die by the sword. Presumably after infecting a few people with covid-19 first.
He has made his career by, amongst other things, targeting smears (both selecting a 'mark' and targeting the audience).
He is a low life made good by the opportunity some particularly nasty politics has presented.
I'll do a little jig if he gets the boot. Which he won't. For all the reasons above.
He’ll be “in place” ‘till about 18 months before the next election, when he will “go away” to focus on winning that next big campaign without distraction.
Peston & Kussenberg are literally protecting their source
That's the depressing thing, by spinning Doms lines for him, they get to say 'an anonymous source says'..... Living out their Woodward & Bernstein fantasies.
There will be one or two others along no doubt.
Nah, the Tories who inhabit this place have no shame.
A pox on them all.
First half of my december prediction is getting closer; that was for cummings to be gone by mid year.
Second half of prediction was that johnson would be gone by year end.
Should have placed a bet.
Posted to the GE 2019 thread.
Vinneyeh, I’ve actually got some sympathy for your view, in the round.
And I’d felt the same when several other (decent, apolitical) public servants flouted the rules, Neil Ferguson and Dr Calderwood specifically.
But they went, probably pushed for political expedience, and likely the wider health effort suffered as a result.
If those guys went, then there is no doubt Dom needs to go too. For consistency.
....this, pretty much. Otherwise it's, again, one rule for Dom and one rule for the rest. And let's not forget that over 14,000 ordinary plebs have been fined for breaking the lockdown:
https://metro.co.uk/2020/05/15/14000-fines-handed-people-breaking-lockdown-12709049/
In the last month, my best mate couldn't be present for the birth of his daughter, my cousin likewise, and my great auntie Jean, after dying in a care home, had a funeral attended by 2 people.
To see the Tories now pretending that Cummings' only sin is just caring too much about his family is the absolute pinnacle of ****ishness.
He has very good reason for acting like the rules don’t apply to him. They never have done in the past.
sadly, this.
OK binners – by the end of the week for tasty baked goodness 🙂
Just for clarity, let’s all ‘legally and responsibly’ define the ‘end of the week’ shall we 😉
Saturday? Sunday? Monday (it’s a BH weekend)? first working week after lockdown?
Plenty of scope there to ‘legally’ create some space for the odd infraction if needs be.
TJ it's not a sacking offence it's a criminal offence and he should be set a public example of.
There was a time when politicians were held to higher standards, they didn't adhere to them but if they got caught there were consequences, affairs brought forced resignations, Profumo nearly brought the government down by lying to the house. We now have Dom in contempt and Boris who doesn't know how many kids he has but hey ho, Brexit, flags, VE Day, proud to be British etc.
Meanwhile our virus control measures are lack luster at best and we're destroying the education of a whole generation of kids, trashing the economy, destroying people's lives through job losses and business collapses in the main to protect people over 65 who think it's their God given right to go to the garden centre.
Anyone with kids knows that no cold, flu or even Ebola excuses you from taking care of the kids. Only a properly authorised death certificate gets you off.
Failing to see how two adults between them couldn't have a fair go at looking after 1 child. If it got to crisis point then yes get help but to preemptively travel up the country seems bizarre. Anyone worked out where they stopped on the way? Got to be done CCTV lurking from a service station
but to preemptively travel up the country seems bizarre
Durham is low risk.
The virus would only go there if it couldn't get in to Oxford or Cambridge.
😉
From today’s coordinated dissembling by ministers (Gove especially good at this), should we be learning that if you have small children and obeyed the rules on isolating your household if Covid19 was suspected, then you are guilty of poor parenting? Is that the takeaway? Good parents ignore/break the rules?
Binbins - by sunday 31st May.
In the last month, my best mate couldn’t be present for the birth of his daughter, my cousin likewise, and my great auntie Jean, after dying in a care home, had a funeral attended by 2 people.
To see the Tories now pretending that Cummings’ only sin is just caring too much about his family is the absolute pinnacle of ****ishness.
I think in this the case the swearfilter is correct.
A lot of people have stuck to the rules thru very harsh circumstances to stop the spread and they weren’t in the public eye driving the bus.
Durham is low risk.
The virus would only go there if it couldn’t get in to Oxford or Cambridge.
Very good.
I've lost track of the number of senior officials in all sorts of places that have broken the rules in their countries at the time that are still there.
I think it was the Canadian PM whose wife had COVID. Gave a speech about how "we are all in it together"." We all have to do our part". Then proceeded to say not to cross provincial borders (police were actually Manning roadblocks in places) don't travel to second homes, don't travel for Easter, don't visit family with whom you don't reside. So he shipped his wife ad kids off to the second home across a border, then a few weeks later did the same himself to visit them for Easter then came back. Pretty sure he is still in post.
We might all be in it together, it's just some of us are more in it than others. Plus ca change.
From today’s coordinated dissembling by ministers (Gove especially good at this), should we be learning that if you have small children and obeyed the rules on isolating your household if Covid19 was suspected, then you are guilty of poor parenting?
It's just a timely reminder that this cabinet of mediocrity does not give a flying **** for the people of this country. They will ride you into the ground in the quest to keep their grubby paws on the reins of power.
binners
SubscriberRemember when the BBC used to have a reputation for independent and impartial journalism?
At the moment they’ve about as much credibility as Fox News or Russia Today
You would think people could see that but nearly every HYS on the BBC News web site is stuffed with people seeing the complete opposite?
Most of them claiming the “left wing BBC lovies” are always after the Conservatives and never make any criticism of Labour!
Christ on a bike they must be so indoctrinated from reading the Daily Wail and lapping up every word spewed from Crazy Frog’s mouth.
stumpyjon
Meanwhile our virus control measures are lack luster at best and we’re destroying the education of a whole generation of kids, trashing the economy, destroying people’s lives through job losses and business collapses in the main to protect people over 65 who think it’s their God given right to go to the garden centre.
Brilliant mate. very good.
onehundredthidiot
MemberSo he and wife were both at “home” isolating but needed child care. At home need child care.
It's totally possible that they could have been too ill to look after the kids. Except that if they were, they couldn't have driven 250 miles to his parents'. And his wife's article specifically says that he lay in bed for 10 days while she looked after the kids.
It is a conundrum eh.
Says quite a bit about him that he had no one within 250 miles that could help with childcare.
Bet they have a nanny in London.
In the last month, my best mate couldn’t be present for the birth of his daughter, my cousin likewise, and my great auntie Jean, after dying in a care home, had a funeral attended by 2 people.
To see the Tories now pretending that Cummings’ only sin is just caring too much about his family is the absolute pinnacle of ****ishness.
Very much this. And the fact that Spectator articles by his wife and himself appear to contradict the stories being spun, and I'm not seeing any "journalist" challenging them on what have to be lies
read his wifes account the child was with him
https://spectator.us/getting-coronavirus-bring-clarity/amp/
You're on TJ. Greenhalghs are open again.
I'm still convinced he's going absolutely nowhere as he's our de facto PM. They're not even putting up any pretense that he's not anymore.
Dom is only going when Dom decides its time to go, and he's still got his Brexit mission to complete.
So he'll be staying put until the wrecker-in-chief has driven this country's economy off a cliff. He's already got a bit of a head start with all this and the added bonus of tens of thousands of dead drains-on-the-exchequer
Off of that Twitter;
Wait 'til people find out he was in Durham for his mother's 71st birthday party and his brother in law lives in London and could have provided emergency childcare.
Been a while since I watched a daily presser, but this one is great. Watching Shapps flapping trying talk his way round the obvious conflict between Cummings doing one thing while the lockdown rules say the other is quite something. You can only imagine what must be going on behind the scenes right now. All these ministers will be seething that they're having to take flak from the media and made to look like idiots to defend Cummings' indefensible actions. They're not going to put up with it for much longer. I'm with TJ, he'll be gone by next week. This sort of storm is not going to blow itself out, and the longer it goes on the more it will damage Johnson.
Anyone watching todays government carcrash update? Grant Shapps must be gutted he draw the short straw today. Shame. 😁
Edit - oh Daz is. Shapps looks thrilled that someone just asked a question not about Cummings.
I’m genuinely shocked that Boris didn’t do the prezzer today. With him being his aide I thought he would have been keen to defend him publicly.
What a crock of shit that all was. The answer seems to be “Dominic Cummings can do whatever the hell he likes”
On a positive note, next time you break your bike, Grant Shapps Will pop round and fix it for you
So in order to back Cummings, Shapps, on behalf of the government, has basically just undermined the credibility of the lockdown message for the entire nation. A level of interpretation is now implied and you can’t see how people will abide by the rules to the same extent now.
The government is now essentially risking lives to save Cummings ass. Just disgraceful.
So in order to back Cummings, Shapps, on behalf of the government, has basically just undermined the credibility of the lockdown message for the entire nation. A level of interpretation is now implied and you can’t see how people will abide by the rules to the same extent now.
The government is now essentially risking lives to save Cummings ass. Just disgraceful.
but thats been implicit, (and probably by design) since they haven't sacked him
Pretty unimpressive.
He'll be gone as this story will never die. As loads of other people will have a story similar to mine
I wrestled for weeks whether to go and see my Dad and finally broke lockdown to see him, two days before he died. In the previous weeks he wasn't talkative as he'd mentally checked out so I had loads of wasted oppertunities to go and see him. Then he was buried with 10 people in attendance
**** Dominic Cummings
The response from my MP:
Dear fadda
Mr Cummings' journey was within the rules. The Labour Health Ministers' decision to sit in a park eating chips was not.
I am puzzled as to why nobody who has complained to be about Mr Cummings has felt the same way about Mr Gething.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/11608940/labour-mp-breaks-lockdown-rules-chips-picnic/
Seems like a reasoned response, entirely professional, as befits my representative, and this has made me think much more highly of him...
Shapps when asked whether Dom had been spoken to by the police "Mr Cummings statements says he wasn't", so the police are notbeing correct? Well Mr Cummings says.....
On "spoken to by police" Cummings states "No one was spoken to" Police say " made contact with"
Email? Post? Telephone?
I'm on leave for the coming week, I'd love to go and visit my mum, she's barely left her home in the last ~9 weeks for food... Nevermind anything else.
We both think we had very similar mild symptoms in mid to late March and both still have good and bad days now. Ironically, my mum dropped my sister back to Wirral from her home in Prestatyn (bought at the end of last summer) the day before lockdown began and my sis hasn't been able to work since because of post-op issues, on balance it would have done them both some good to have spent lockdown together. But my sis had obeyed the rules and not gone over the border, even for a day.
But this plonker can drive to Durham and Gove/Raab/Hancock defend his actions, at the cost of making the public at large metaphorically saying sod this lockdown for a game of soldiers? Alrighty then, wibble wobble, I'm a rusty paperclip!
This is a new low. It can't be sold as within the rules. That's like denying the existence of water while drowning. A government bereft of morals, they're Trumpian.
He even has the time to add a Brexit-related retort, to remind everyone what a prick he is.
Just written to Gove, my MP unfortunately, and asked him if, given the current government reponse, he is happy if we all follow Cummings wonderful example.
I eagerly await his bullshit response.
He even has the time to add a Brexit-related retort, to remind everyone what a prick he is.
He is superhuman, though.
I mean 260-odd miles whilst being too ill to look after his kid.
I'm imagining the scene as they finally pulled up at his parents house a house near to his parents.
Like the last bit of Memphis Belle. One engine left, shot to bits, but heroically just getting there...
What a guy.
What a ****.
Just reading through the BBC live commentary and had to stop because it was making my blood boil.
My MP is that utter, utter cock rees-mogg, I wonder what response he would give if I email him?
What a crock of shit that all was. The answer seems to be “Dominic Cummings can do whatever the hell he likes”
Yep, watching that has made me incredibly angry. The vast majority of us have made massive sacrifices following the rules that Cummings and co have told us to follow. Personally I've had to be alone at Easter, miss my nephew's 7th birthday where he was given a new bike that I helped buy him, not seen my parents since lockdown started despite them both being ill and most likely not here for much longer (fully understand your decision mehr, I've been close to doing the same a few times), missed a mate's 40th birthday when he was back in the country for 5 days (he's in the MOD) and limited my riding to local only and no driving to do so. Why should I have bothered doing that if the very person who makes the rules can go swanning up and down the country while he is infected without punishment? If I was to jump in the car now, drive to see my parents then come home I would be rightfully fined and told to go home if I was stopped.
If my path crosses with Cummings or Boris at any time in the future I will quite happily take one for the team and demand an apology out of them, by whatever means I can muster. They are both complete and utter ****s.
Interesting to watch this whole circus; his apologists know he was wrong, know he and his wife lied.
They have no sense of shame, no honour.
It's like watching people sell their souls.
If my path crosses with Cummings or Boris at any time in the future I will quite happily take one for the team and demand an apology out of them, by whatever means I can muster. They are both complete and utter ****.
Milkshake works well.
So I hear...
It’s like watching people sell their souls.
Like watching, because you would have to have a soul in order to sell it.
When you look at how they're all falling over themselves to back him, you do have to wonder exactly what kind of dirt he has on them all?
I reckon he could bring down the government in a heartbeat if he started blabbing, and they all know it.
I'm particularly enjoying his Brexit comment too - what a classy soul. He thinks he is untouchable. Although Boris has given him 'full backing' which doesn't always bode well 🙂
And to think I was genuinely conflicted about exercising for longer than an hour!
Line them up against a wall, shoot the lot of them.
We could kickstart the economy by selling tickets as pay per view event. I'll chuck in £50 to see it, I'll pay £5k to participate.
Anyone else?
Wouldn't really surprise me if they'll start spinning this out in the direction of fast tracking a reopen of everything and let's see what happens.
All of a sudden you'll see a massive increase in people flouting lock down completely and Bojo and the **** wit party will announce that due to the increase in numbers doing what they want they'll just lift all restrictions and see what happens. Not like they really give much of a shit what happens to people when the economy is starting to suffer.
Did make me laugh though shen I saw that video of Dominic cum face shouting at reporters to social distance..... That might actually be the height of c***yness
Is that the clip where he was carrying a few “look how good a father I am” props?
Still a smart cookie. He’ll get away with this in the end, I’m pretty sure.