Cummings is taking questions later today

[pontypridd]

How on earth is that going to go?

Boris really is going to keep him at all costs isn't he.

If it were that, he'd be making a statement

BBC news just said he was making a statement and he will also be answering questions.

Surely there would be no need for questions if he was just resigning though.

It will be an explanation why using common sense was ok

But we didn’t tell the public that as they don’t have the intelligence to use the right common sense

How arrogant to think he can win the public over when so many many people have had to make heartbreakingly painful sacrifices not in a maybe but on was actually happening in their lives

He will be hounded out and rightly so

Resignation, surely? I'll be watching, certainly, but he'd better have something good!

Cathy Newman of Channel 4 News tweets - Para 14 of the spads’ code of conduct: “Special advisers must not take public part in political controversy...They must observe discretion and express comment with moderation, avoiding personal attacks, and would not normally speak in public for their Minister or the Department.”

I reckon they'll end up sacking him in name only. So big announcement 'ding dong the witch is dead' etc etc then he'll quietly continue doing his job anyway. He's not an elected MP, doesn't really have an official role etc. I'm sure he can continue to pull the strings in the background.

"I did not want to make this pubic knowledge but my son has autism and needs to be looked after by people he knows"

denys any other trips
denys needing to stop at any point
ignores existence of family in london

I read that Durham constabulary are investigating, quick anpr check on his licence plate would clear up an awful lot of ambiguity..

I notice that it's yet again LauraK who has been the mouthpiece for this announcement.

twitter.com/bbclaurak/status/1264883564144885760

Did she make a mistake and it should have read:

"A source close to Dominic Cummings is expected to give a public statement and take questions later, as calls for a source close to him to quit and explain himself mount"

Just shows the arrogance of the man..."Look Boris, you're crap at this, I'll do a much better job of convincing the public that I can do whatever I want whilst they all have to obey the rules, so leave it to me. You go and play with your 6th/7th child while I show everyone who really is the boss."

@FusionChefGeoff that could well happen, although I expect he'll brazen it out.

Well this will brighten up an otherwise dull long weekend nicely.

I would like to ask him to explain how allowing your 4 year old child to feed you ribena, whilst you have active CV symptoms so serious that youre wife is counting your respirations, is following the instincts of every father?

I'm not going to watch it. He is not elected and I don't understand why he is being given this platform, it should be the PM explaining and answering questions. I've said that my own son has diagnosed adhd and autism, I'll be really upset if this is used to excuse his behaviour.

He has to take the questions himself as he can’t trust the other baboons to get his lie right.

I had similar thoughts.

Honestly, Laura K is Johnson-Cummings' equivalent of Maggie Haberman for Trump.

I have passingly wondered why both leaders chose women as their spokesperson-masquerading-as-a-journalist. Or whether there's more than coincidence to the fact that it was women who chose to bite at the bait of: "I'll give you access... so much access you'll become my broadcaster... and if you don't please me I can always take it away and then where would you be?"

Anyway, questions for another time and place.

As for the journalists door stepping him and the footage of it obviously taken by someone in his household, I think you could argue that journalists are key workers and I saw loads of them with masks which is what " the rules" say you should do if you can't maintain social distancing.
No more gobshite-y bollocks than Johnson has come out with in defence of his special friend.

I saw loads of them with masks on. You failed to mention the one’s who weren’t
What about the neighbours and random bystanders, were they wearing masks? We’re they key workers?

He better not use the daily briefing. That would be really shocking - the forum for reporting the sad deaths and new cases of covid, and to give the UK population its instructions on how to avoid spreading the virus.

I don't want to hear from a civil servant. I want to hear from his boss, that we elected.

Is this the death of democracy?

If it's his resignation, wouldn't Boris want to announce it so he could try to convince the public that he's taken a stand and work on rebuilding public confidence?

It just seems odd for a resigning advisor (or any advisor, for that matter) to be taking up that much airtime given the damage he's caused - I'd expect that if he were resigning, the focus would be on Boris's damage limitation rather than still on Cummings' excuses.

It really feels like DS have lost the plot.

Either he’s resigning.

Or he thinks we’ll all come round when we hear him tell his own story (lol, good luck with that).

It’s reminding me a bit of the Prince Andrew interview.

I don't think he is going to apologise. I don't think he is going to admit he did anything wrong.

He strikes me as an arrogant little shit who thinks he is undoubtably the sharpest knife in the Whitehall box and the rest of us should be lowering our eyes and kneeling as he passes. And that includes you Boris. On Planet Cummings I think you are tolerated not revered.

What I am really really hoping for is that he refuses to take any advice and does a total Ratner/Fox foot shoot so anyone in any doubt realises what an arrogant fool he is, and by association what a poor judge of character BJ is. I am so in the mood for an unintentional resignation letter by press conference........

I reckon he'll go straight for "I'm a Brexit martyr and anyone who criticises me is an enemy of the people."

And won't discuss anything else.

Given the broad swathe of people who have really suffered keeping the lockdown, and who are now being told that "following your parental instinct" over following the rules makes you a good person, I would expect this to be highly divisive and play well with a very, very small crowd – whilst completely pull the rug out from under him and Johnson with the majority of the country.

He better not use the daily briefing. That would be really shocking

It has to be a separate event surely. Even BJ wouldn't be stupid enough to let him hijack the daily briefing.

Either, he’s so arrogant he believes we’ll all instantly see it’s okay actually as soon as we’ve heard his explanation or he’s about to announce there’s been a coup and that he’s now president for life.

He won’t be resigning - if he was goi g to go Johnson would fire him and try and maintain some semblance of authority.