Tory MPs call for Dominic Cummings to resign
A growing group of Conservative MPs are calling for Dominic Cummings to resign after he allegedly broke lockdown to travel to Durham twice.
Steve Baker, Simon Hoare, Damian Collins, Sir Roger Gale, Peter Bone, Caroline Nokes and Craig Whittaker have all called for Boris Johnson’s chief aide to resign this morning after new evidence came out last night in the saga.
Downing Street continues to back Cummings, with a Johnson ally telling the Sunday Times that the Prime Minister would not throw him “to the dogs”.
On Friday, the Mirror and the Guardian jointly reported that the powerful adviser had driven with his wife and young son to Durham so they could self-isolate at Cummings’ parents house while he and his wife had Covid-19 symptoms.
Last night, the Sunday Mirror and Observer jointly reported that Cummings was sighted at Barnard Castle near Durham on 12 April and in Durham on 19 April after he had already returned to London, meaning he had made the round trip again.
Downing Street has defended the first trip to Durham, saying it was necessary so Cummings’ family could with childcare while the two parents were ill.
A statement from Downing Street last night said the second story was not true and transport secretary Grant Shapps this morning denied that Cummings had travelled back and forth between London and Durham twice during the lockdown.
Shapps said Cummings would not be resigning over the saga.
However, Tory MP and former Brexit minister Steve Baker told Sky News this morning that the former Vote Leave mastermind had to go.
“If he doesn’t resign, we’ll just keep burning through Boris’ political capital at a rate we can ill afford in the midst of this crisis,” he said.
“It’s very clear that Dominic travelled when everybody else understood Dominic’s slogans to mean stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives.
“I think mums and dads who very much care about their children and have been forgoing the childcare for extended family will wonder why he’s been allowed to do this.
“I really don’t see as we approach the Prime Minister at the liaison committee on Wednesday how this is going to go away unless Dominic goes.”
Shapps told Sky News this morning it was “completely untrue” that Cummings returned to Durham after being seen at Downing Street on 14 April.
“I think there are more stories today, I was seeing about has he travelled backwards and forwards, accusations that he then went back up to Durham again further times and I understand completely untrue,” he said.
“When he came back to London, which was on 14 April, he has remained in London since and hasn’t been back to Durham so there are lots of things being said here which are completely untrue.”
An ally of the Prime Minister told the Mail on Sunday that Johnson would stick by Cummings and that “it’s not like he was visiting a lover”.
The quip is likely a reference to Professor Neil Ferguson who had to resign as a member of the government’s scientific advisory after it was revealed he was breaking lockdown to meet his married lover.