To think that Dominic Cummings DID break the rules?

[LumaLou]

The day after reportedly developing coronavirus symptoms, Dominic Cummings and his family travelled 200 miles to self isolate.

While I can understand the desire to be near family, AIBU to think they should have isolated at home?

Many families in the UK have faced situations where sticking to the rules has at best inconvenient, at worst traumatic. They have managed to do so with less of a support network and less resources at their disposal than the Cummings family.

@MarieG10
I totally agree with you there

The law was that you don't leave home without reasonable excuse. That was it! He had a reasonable excuse, although not everyone would agree but legally he did.

A lot of lawyers seem to think he potentially committed an offence. It's certainly not cut and dried.

And there have been a number of complaints to the police.

What was his reasonable excuse when he drove to the hospital?
He was clearly symptomatic at that point, and if it was true that the whole Durham saga was to access help, this would have been the least his family could do to help.

He WAS the bloody civil servant who helped draw up the guidance.

That the rest of us followed.

I don't care if it was the law or not.

He broke the law. He will get away with it. He could get away with murder literally.

*@Mistigri *
*
The law was that you don't leave home without reasonable excuse. That was it! He had a reasonable excuse, although not everyone would agree but legally he did.

A lot of lawyers seem to think he potentially committed an offence. It's certainly not cut and dried.

And there have been a number of complaints to the police*.

Misti...the press will always find lawyers who take a certain viewpoint. Re complaints to the police. The police are weary of politicians trying to drag them into political disputes. What are the police going to do to investigate all this shit when their own policy is if they think there has been a breach of the law, to give advice in the first instance. So this is never going to be tested in court.

If by chance it ever got to court....do you seriously think that a decent lawyer wouldn't make absolute mincemeat of the vast difference in guidance v an act of Parliament? Wouldn't even pass the CPS threshold test frankly!

Oh...and I don't think the police will be keen anyway. They had to return to court, and ask the court to overturn a conviction against a defendant when they realised they prosecuted against a non existent legal provision. The CPS have just reviewed loads of prosecutions (this includes fixed penalty tickets) and found huge numbers utterly flawed and basically wrong (based on guidance and not law against)

So if I were Dom Cummings and lost my job...I would say bring it on

What this exemplifies for Mumsnet critiques is there is a vast difference between the opinion and law. Thank god at the moment that the law still prevails

the press will always find lawyers who take a certain viewpoint

Except I wasn't referring to the press but to lawyers posting under their own names on social media. Lawyers with a reputation to consider. Lawyers with a more detailed knowledge of the law and how it works than non-lawyers on a parenting forum.

The law makes provisions for exceptional circumstances and you'd stretching to make to encompass random outings to test your eyesight, or a healthy and wealthy 40-something man whose exceptional circumstance was supposedly that he couldn't be arsed to look after his own kid.

It comes down to the fact that Cummings believed he has unique and exceptional rights that do not apply to other people.

Breaking, from that well know organ of the liberal left the Daily Telegraph:

A Durham Police investigation has concluded that Dominic Cummings DID breach lockdown rules when he drove to Barnard Castle, the Telegraph has learned

My mum wrote to her MP (Jeremy Hunt) and he replied saying that in his view Dominic Cummings clearly broke the rules.

Anyone else wondering if Dominic Cummings is behind Boris Johnson’s new catch phrase- let’s move on?

Seems his stock answer to any question regarding it just like ‘take back control’ and ‘get Brexit done’ used to be.

A Durham Police investigation has concluded that Dominic Cummings DID breach lockdown rules when he drove to Barnard Castle, the Telegraph has learned.

"The police force said the Prime Minister’s most senior aide committed a “minor breach” and that it would not be investigating further, according to the Telegraph."

www.cityam.com/dominic-cummings-broke-lockdown-says-durham-police/

So not "Reasonable and legal" like the PM has been insisting then?

So not "Reasonable and legal" like the PM has been insisting then?

Do you have that quote in context? Johnson? Cummings? Original trip to Durham? Barnard Castle trip?

Update - ITV

"Dominic Cummings may have committed a "minor breach" of lockdown rules when he made a journey to Barnard Castle, Durham Police's investigation has concluded." ...

Durham Police say that in making the 52-mile round journey, there might have been a minor breach of coronavirus regulations that "would have warranted police intervention".

www.itv.com/news/2020-05-28/durham-police-concludes-dominic-cummings-barnard-castle-trip-was-minor-breach-of-lockdown-rules/