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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

to think Dominic Cummings should go/thread 4

999 replies

SophieB100 · 27/05/2020 14:10

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

OP posts:
Thread gallery
15
monkeyonthetable · 29/05/2020 19:11

@bobtrain re; your last comment to me - you are so entirely missing the point, I don't know where to begin.

SophieB100 · 29/05/2020 20:20

Cummings was deliberately vague when he had no option to be otherwise: he could remember talking to Boris, but because they were both so poorly (albeit Cummings was well enough a day or two later to collect son/Mary from hospital) he couldn't recall discussing him being in Durham. He said this in the rose garden.

He thinks they might have stopped for petrol but he couldn't be sure. Again, said in the rose garden.

Despite forgetting a conversation with his boss, and getting petrol he remembers Mary wishing someone a happy Easter, on the private grounds that his parents own. He had to justify this, because he knew Lee had told Sky/Police and the number plate matched. So he acknowledged it, but painstakingly added that it was in a private family owned woods. Obviously not that private, as members of the public, like Lee were wandering around too.

He covered the tracks he had to, and deliberately evaded the other questions because he couldn't really answer them. The one thing he did have to do, is explain why he was at Durham Castle (on Mary's birthday), so instead of telling the truth, we got the pathetic reasoning: testing my eyesight by driving, to see if I could drive.

Regarding the 5 - 1 criteria, we are on level 4. We are probably creeping back towards 5, because of the increase in infections. So, we are now expected to forget about this key bit of information. It has been dropped from briefings all week. So, we must get down to level 3, which Boris insisted 3 weeks ago, is no longer a priority. Perhaps its because they need to push ahead with re-opening the economy, no matter what. And the R number will increase, because it has elsewhere in Europe.

Schools have now closed in South Korea, having opened this week because of an outbreak of infections. And they were way ahead of us in managing this before they reopened in the first place.

Our local hospital is expecting to see a significant rise in two weeks time.

Many family members and friends have decided to keep their children out of school next week, with resulting loss of income for some of them. Because they know it's too early. They know that trace and trace isn't effective yet, and we need to wait a while longer.

The government can tell us to do this, and that, and when we should, but if we've learned one thing in the last week, it is that guidance can be interpreted, and our instinct as parents, over rules everything.

OP posts:
littledrummergirl · 29/05/2020 20:23

I think he knows he stopped more than once on the way home and was vague in case he seen in different places.
I also wonder if he has the credit card receipt or if it was on expenses (being as he was going all that way to benefit work of course) Hmm

OP posts:
sleepingpup · 29/05/2020 20:31

@PigletJohn

Yep. There's an excuse for everything and more. And it all fits together so neatly.

His wife got ill so panicked and drove across the country. Then she wasn't ill.

Drove all that way - and boom virus started next day, just in time to fit in the isolation period before driving back.

Picked child up in car from hospital himself whilst ( where was the child care 🙄? ) whilst v ill. Obviously wife could go into hospital as she was not ill anymore.

Unluckiest people ever as the only times they went out they were spotted .....

It's a farce actually.

FecktheBoss · 29/05/2020 20:33

Is the car petrol or diesel?

Farms have lots of red diesel - if only a tank could be dipped!

bobtrain · 29/05/2020 20:58

[quote monkeyonthetable]@bobtrain re; your last comment to me - you are so entirely missing the point, I don't know where to begin.[/quote]
Don't care.

solieltoday · 29/05/2020 21:20
Confused

Anyway.... London seems more or less back to normal in terms of traffic and people out and about. Noticed some pubs near greens that are serving drinks through the windows. Starbucks has re-opened for take-out. Loads of take out coffee shops / pizza / now. Large groups of teens hanging out and multi-families. Definitely a massive change in atmosphere when out and about.

FliesandPies · 30/05/2020 00:06

Possible internal inquiry in the handling of the investigation by Durham Police

Mumratheevergiving · 30/05/2020 01:33

SophieB100 thanks for the link about the volume of emails, these are real concerns, real feelings, real people.

Rather than go through Cummings obvious pack of lies recount with a finetoothcomb it is the result of that act that should be focused on.

The realisation that one of the key people responsible for creating the regulations had deviated from the core message to 'stay at home' caused widespread hurt and anger. So much so that the public (which Cummings claims to understand the motivations of so much better than the politicians) have turned to their MPs in dismay.It was the first time I had ever written to my MP or separately my Mum to hers, I got disappointing party line responses and my Mum got an automatic reply. We turn to the PM to admonish or discipline, to acknowledge our feelings, yet here we are told we need to move on and that there's been no wrong-doing and although we know it to be wrong & we feel anger, the Government's bullish response is that we are over-reacting & they let us tie ourselves in knots over insignificant detail and we find ourselves in double-think.

Watching the satirists on Have I Got News for You tonight reminded me once more that my initial instinct was right, my feelings were valid, that they failed to meet the standards we expect from them. So many people have told them that this week, the latest being Theresa May. Are you listening yet?

Apology still due. Tossers

Roussette · 30/05/2020 07:36

Oh yes, our feelings are very valid. I think the majority of the public have been fantastic with this and even now, during a vid call with a bunch of friends last night, there was discussion about how people could get together after next week, whilst not breaking the 6 people rule. And how we lucky people could come into the garden round the back etc etc. So lots of people I know are toeing the line.

My desire is not to break the rules because of DC, that is not my way. I just want him held to account more than he has and by that, I mean out of his job.

I read somewhere that Boris and crew are saying if it's not on the front page of Sunday's papers, they're clear. I would love something else to come out before then.

Pilcrow · 30/05/2020 07:48

I had nothing but total silence from my MP - a diehard Brexiter in a staunchly Tory area - until yesterday. To my considerable amazement he sent a long reply (not personal to me, as yes, he'd had many, many emails and letters about the issue) concluding that Cummings was wrong and furthermore that the Rose Garden grandstanding was not acceptable.

It clearly resonated that said MP has a vulnerable family member who'd had very serious surgery just before lockdown and couldn't be visited by family, either then or now.

After explaining all that, he did evade calling for action by saying the important thing was to focus on fighting Covid-19 - as of course we do, though equally obviously to me, the protection of Cummings by Johnson is actually hindering that process now.

But given that my MP is the biggest fanboy going, and I'd expected to be slapped down, that response came out of left field. Basically, if he's going against Johnson here, it must be serious.

itsgettingweird · 30/05/2020 08:09

Cummings cleverly only gave information for things he knew they had proof of. No avoided things like Petrie station because he knows no one can prove it. It was a legal written statement.

Still boils my piss they have got away with this and are now opening up the country despite not being at the alert level they said we had to be at to do this.

itsgettingweird · 30/05/2020 08:12

Still nothing from my MP!

Alsohuman · 30/05/2020 08:20

Or mine. Lazy bastard can’t even be arsed to get his minions to copy and paste the Tory HQ message.

SheWranglesRugRats · 30/05/2020 08:22

I see on FB one hard of thinking MP sent out an email with the cut and paste instructions left in by mistake...

Roussette · 30/05/2020 08:24

Pilcrow that's interesting about your MP.

Mine is a bigger fanboy than yours, and I got an entirely predictable email, but at least he answered because he is well known for ignoring his constituents.
He just had to say this bit, I knew he would say something like this...
'As you can imagine I have received a high number of emails on this matter, with differing opinions from constituents'

I do not believe for one minute he had a lot of emails supporting DC, people write when they are upset and angry, not when they're happy.

He did not acknowledge there was anything wrong with what DC did, and said it was a matter between the Prime Minister and his Special Advisor, which as you can imagine, made me more angry than I was before I read it.

IpanemaGallina · 30/05/2020 08:25

They have got away with it which is so frustrating but damage has been done to their popularity. Yesterday, my very pro-Brexit/Johnson neighbours were really laying into DC/Johnson loudly in their garden, and then again later to various friends/family members on the telephone whilst sat in their garden.

I did have a wry smile to myself as I watered my plants having been forced to listen to the whole thing.

CendrillonSings · 30/05/2020 08:46

Or mine. Lazy bastard can’t even be arsed to get his minions to copy and paste the Tory HQ message.

Lol - why would they bother wasting their time? Grin

bobtrain · 30/05/2020 08:51

Is there a rise in covid cases or is it because more testing is revealing more people who have it. I could be possible the infection rate is stable. We won't know until we have a steady stream of results over a period of time. I would like to know more detail of current known cases around the country but I can only find regions mentioned rather than by town or city. Does anyone know where I can get that info?

itsgettingweird · 30/05/2020 09:12

We only know there's an increase in number of tests. For past 6 days they've hidden not been able to verify how many people were actually tested.

Egghead68 · 30/05/2020 09:15

@bobtrain the KCL data seem to show that infections are coming down

to think Dominic Cummings should go/thread 4
Alsohuman · 30/05/2020 09:33

@CendrillonSings

Or mine. Lazy bastard can’t even be arsed to get his minions to copy and paste the Tory HQ message.

Lol - why would they bother wasting their time? Grin

Because he’s my MP and it’s his job, ie what he’s paid for.
bobtrain · 30/05/2020 09:41

[quote Egghead68]@bobtrain the KCL data seem to show that infections are coming down[/quote]
Thanks for the info but it still only shows regions. It would be helpful to know if a spike is nearby in my local town. Regional areas are too large.

Egghead68 · 30/05/2020 09:44

Here you go @bobtrain. Try this website also from KCL. It has a map showing individual towns:
covid.joinzoe.com/data