Cummings is taking questions later today

[pontypridd]

How on earth is that going to go?

We need the body language experts in. I saw the blinking/staring all the way through the interview .

he believes he is right

Adam Boulton is gearing up.

The media was not ' mean to him' before all this were they?
I don't remember that going on at all ?

This is horrendous. He was faced with a situation that thousands of families have been faced with. How many of them drove 250 miles to be near relatives in case they became too sick to look after their kids. There would nave been no lockdown.

“That account is false because I have a rare condition which means I don’t sweat”

“I had weird vision and my wife and I were unsure if it was safe to drive. So we got in the car with a four year old and went for a 60 mile drive.”

Be interesting to see what questions are asked at the daily briefing after this shit show!
Hope the papers have more on this!

This is making Prince Andrew look coherent and reasonable.

I d think he has come off worse than Prince Andrew

Prince Andrew at least appears red to believe what he was saying

If only the Scientific Advisor had used the excuse, "I was worried that my penis wasn't working properly, so I was merely testing it out". He must be kicking himself now!

I don't really care about the narrative DC wants us to swallow.

He's not an elected official.

I'm far more concerned that an elected PM is continuing to back someone whose flouted the guidelines he approved and has expected the rest of the population to observe - which for some people has involved great sacrifices.

DC isn't the object of my contempt.

Boris is.

So how would he have solved the problem if neither he nor his wife could drive.

@areallthenamesusedup I totally agree.

You do not need to take a walk for a child to go to the toilet.
You do not expose a 17 year old with Covid 19 260 miles away for her to go back to her family... and imagine, if they then think it’s fine to drive to another family if they get it... that is why STAY AT HOME is so important and even care home relatives dying are not allowed visitors.
He had a brother two streets away and friends near who could have come in.

He didn’t tell anyone in government. It didn’t have to be Boris.
He told Boris. Boris then didn’t tell the nation or come clean and instead both blamed the media for fake news. Lying basically.

He did not apologize. Why not apologize? It costs nothing.
Why drive if unfit to drive? With his small child in the back? That is not a responsible father.

Why did these trips coincide with birthdays?
Why didn’t he at least offer resignation?

He is not being challenged on his interpretation of the rules and law. Guidance does say that having young children might mean you cannot totally socially distance e.g. single mum may have to bring child to shop if no home deliveries available. It does NOT say that you can make your own interpretations in SELF ISOLATING WITH COVID 19. It is very clear on that.

The look on Robert Peston's face when he turned round at the end to talk to the other journalists - a mixture of amazement and amusement.

Tiddlesthecat

Turning over to Sky t see if the Amazing Beth is there

"You have to exercise judgement"

Oh, ok. So can we collectively exercise our judgement to punch him in his stupid lying face?

DC will survive because we're 4.5 years away from an election.

I will be shocked if we don't have an election sooner than that after this shitshow (as a whole, not just Cummings). If this government continues the way it is, KS and Labour only need to sit back, look half statesman-like and they could easily be in power within 2-3 years.

I wonder if the police told him that they had camera evidence re his movements just before he came on?

Might explain the delay and the eyesight excuse can only have been a last minute fabrication - dog ate my homework stuff.

Cummings:
"People have to exercise their common sense over the rules".

Also Cummings:
"I got in the car and drove 30 miles with my wife and 4 year old child to test my eyesight"

Give him enough rope and he has hung himself. Was this deliberate strategy by BJ to distance himself from Mr C?

I feel sorry for the children who have witnessed domestic violence during lockdown. The rules eventually changed to allow people to go to another house to escape their situations but a) not everyone has that luxury or opportunity b) that doesn’t help the families this happened to before the change of regs.

DC clearly is the only person in this country to have a child.

Honestly those who want him to resign, to wish Boris dead, to even have another election. He will survive. I think he did ok, enough to stay on.

He had some guts to do this though.

Im far more concerned that an elected PM is continuing to back someone whose flouted the guidelines he approved and has expected the rest of the population to observe - which for some people has involved great sacrifices.

I agree I am more worried about the threat to the public health messages and contact tracing from Boris.

However the problem is Boris himself has tied these together. If DC gets off scot free that is further weakens our response to the pandemic.

Grant Shapps on Saturday was saying it was ok as they went and quaratined / isolated for 14 days and didn't leave the house. Is he now going to retract his support when it now appears he left the house a few times.

It all just seems rubbish.

No one was convinced.

He had some guts to do this though

No. He'd got himself into a position where he couldn't avoid it any longer.