to think Dominic Cummings should go/thread 4

[SophieB100]

New thread to discuss the cummings and goings of the PM's chief adviser.

Previous thread:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3919707-to-think-Dominic-Cummings-should-go-thread-3

BREAKING! Durham Police say he may have broken lockdown rules but as its a minor breach no further action will be taken.

Hahahaha!

Bad luck, witch-hunters!

@CendrillonSings

What on earth do you mean? You think this is a good outcome for DC? Or that minor breaches are ok?

The force said it had "no intention to take retrospective action in respect of the Barnard Castle incident", since this would amount to "treating Mr Cummings differently from other members of the public."
The statement confirmed that the force had not taken retrospective action against any other person.

He did act illegally

Bad luck, witch-hunters

What's the difference between what he did going to Barnard Castle and what Neil Ferguson did?

I wonder if Matt Hancock is speechless at this?

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

Whose role is it to determine guilt? The police or the Courts?

Ha ha Bad luck Cendrillion

The Secret Barrister tweeted similar regarding the 'might'

Lots of excitement about “might”.

The reason for this is that the police don’t determine breaches; they form an opinion. If that opinion is disputed, a court will decide.

In this context, “might” means the police concluded it was. Hence they say they would have sent him back

With thanks to @Noeuf from another thread for that.

Meanwhile

In further bleak news for the Prime Minister, the research suggests that former Labour voters in the 'Red Wall' in the North and Midlands have reacted particularly badly to the row.

At 72 per cent, working class 'C1/C2' voters are more likely to think the government is behaving as though 'it is one rule for them and another rule for everyone else', while 69 per cent are more likely to say Mr Cummings is not telling the truth than voters overall

HelenaDove

Unless the Secret Barrister is secretly the head of his CPS or the Attorney General, his opinion means the square root of fuck all and the police have said they will take no action.

Your witch-hunt has failed

David Allen Green tweeted this

So in summary:

• confused police statement wording
• police consider the Castle Barnard trip as an offence under the regulations
• but on known facts it was so minor that words of advice would have been given
• only if words of advice rejected, more formal police powers invoked

Link to thread

twitter.com/davidallengreen/status/1266001589002698754?s=21

Rachael Venables
@rachaelvenables
·
6h
A contract tracer who was meant to be starting his shift at 8am tells me it's been a 'complete shambles' so far.

He was only emailed at 10.30 last night to be told the system was going live anyway, he still hasn't received his password to logon and the website has crashed.
@LBC

The Secret Barrister @BarristerSecret
· 1h
Replying to @BarristerSecret

It looks as if no action is to be taken, but had Cummings been issued with a fixed penalty notice, and had he refused to pay, he would have been prosecuted. By the Crown Prosecution Service. Whose independent judgement would have been compromised by the AG’s partisan games.

The Secret Barrister <strong>*</strong>@BarristerSecret<strong>*</strong>

This, I’m afraid, is a resigning issue for <strong>@SuellaBraverman</strong>. She has, through a wholesale failure to understand her role as Attorney General, politicised an independent criminal inquiry, presupposing the outcome and embarrassing the CPS.

Your witch-hunt has failed

If Cummings stays on, then it's a Pyrhhic victory for him and Boris.

Your witch-hunt has failed

you what? witch hunt? I still think what I thought 1/2 hr ago.

I wasn't holding my breath for the Durham police.

Why should the Attorney General give a damn what this Twitter random has to say? No one elected the Secret Barrister!

If Cummings stays on, then it's a Pyrhhic victory for him and Boris.

Let’s just file that with the rest of your political predictions, shall we?

Why should the Attorney General give a damn what this Twitter random has to sa

If only we had a Lawyer as the Leader of the Labour Party....

I think the Attorney General will care what he has to say

Let’s just file that with the rest of your political predictions, shall we

Remind me of the current approval rating for Boris Johnson?
How many points has the Conservative party lost in the last few days?
How are the voters in the Red Wall feeling?

This is how they police by consent. Just because it goes no further than engage and explain doesn't mean no crime was commited.

Police spend in ordinate amounts of time in shopping centres taking this approach with teens (usually outside Boots!)

Just because none are officially cautioned or prosecuted doesn't mean what they did was legal.

They have said may have breeched. Well it's retrospective so they have to say that.
But they also said if he was stopped at the time he would have been spoken to at the time it probably would have invited intervention.

Whatever the point he didn't completely follow the guidelines as they argued he did.

Robert Peston
@Peston
·
May 25
Shadow attorney general ⁦*@LordCFalconer*
⁩ makes whithering attack on attorney general ⁦*@SuellaBraverman*
⁩ for defending Cummings on Twitter, saying she committed a “serious constitutional impropriety”. Senior Tories have privately said the same to me

Never mind nobody elected DC either,
do you believe he drove to BC to test his eyes?

Do you think this important strategist couldn't arrange local childcare?

@CendrillonSings

Robert Peston
@Peston
·
1h
Replying to
@Peston
was a breach of the rules, if not a punishable one. It is moot - even within the Tory Party - whether the PM is right to back Cummings. By contrast the public support for Cummings given a few days ago by @SuellaBraverman
today looks an even more clear cut breach of her duty...
Robert Peston
@Peston
·
1h
as attorney general to be impartial. Will she recognise this breach and say sorry?

@NikkiLowe1
·
8m
If Durham Police consider Dominic Cummings excursion to Barnard Castle 'minor' what would be considered major? Did he need to fly to Italy and lick all the aeroplane seats to actually be brought to account

twitter.com/NikkiLowe1/status/1266004812073754626?s=20