DS statement on Cummings is shameful

[SouthWestmom]

Basically I am sceptical about how terrible this could be to get for all of us - the mild illness stuff has been dropped as not helpful to the general lock us all up thing.

Regardless as a law abiding person I've stuck to the rules.

Which I thought meant you had to self isolate if you had symptoms and no, you couldn't go somewhere easier. If you had kids you all stayed in together, relied on deliveries or the local council support schemes and 111 if it was bad.

So I'm sickened by the knot tying in getting Cummings off the hook.

Neil Ferguson and the Scottish medical advisor should sue him and his pals. Even at the top, people like Dom feel like they are special.

So did he go there for his DM's 71st birthday then and not because he was self isolating due to COVID? It just gets worse!!

If he was bopping to ABBA was Take a Chance on Me playing or was it Winner Takes it All?

'Pps are losing their shit with this because they don’t like Cummings, and because they see it as a route of attacking Boris and the govt over the Covid crisis response.'

Yes and he has handed it to them on a plate. I'm sure 'forensic' Starmer will make a painfully slow with lots of dramatic pauses speech about it at the earliest opportunity. I'm surprised he isn't on the BBC at 7pm tbh.

Many people with a sick spouse, a small DC and needing support would have isolated near people able to offer support. He is central to the government response though and really should have known better.

Well if I’d received a fine during lockdown I’d be demanding it back plus interest.
Because it transpires there aren’t any rules. Just guidance.
And sure as shit the police have no legal powers to fine for breaches of guidance.

It's funny , but I said on a coronavirus thread early on in March ( one of many threads) once that the messages were 'mixed' and was flamed for being a bit 'thick' for not being clear on some of the rules.
Clearly I was in good company as the one making up the rules didn't quite understand them either it seems!
Not sure if this makes me better than them or not ..

Pps are losing their shit with this because they don’t like Cummings, and because they see it as a route of attacking Boris and the govt over the Covid crisis response

I’ll tell you right Now that people are losing their shit cos they’ve diligently followed the rules and they are pissed that the some of the people that made the fucking rules aren’t following them

Its fuck all to do with how you vote...its all to do with fairness and hypocrisy

DC has been portrayed as this highly intelligent and indispensable adviser to BJ - a clever Machiavelli sort - but what he did regarding driving to Durham seems quite dumb t - so he's not quite the great brain after all - and everyone is now trying to cover for his stupidity! He went there, stayed in an outer building and had food left at door for some days - he could do that in London - as thousand/millions have done with delivery services.

'She has disgraced herself along with all the others trying to defend this. '

The Dep CMO has not 'disgraced herself'. What a weird thing to say.

She answered the questions clearly that the welfare of vulnerable people including DC is a consideration regarding travel and 'breaking the lockdown rules'. She didn't discuss Cummings specifically so isn't 'disgraced'.

@VenusTiger if child welfare was so important, why not allow his London based relatives look after the child, rather than coop him up in a car for hours driving to Durham, and then put two 70+ year olds at risk too?

Did the mother's 71st birthday have anything to do with it one wonders...?

Well if I’d received a fine during lockdown I’d be demanding it back plus interest.
Because it transpires there aren’t any rules. Just guidance.And sure as shit the police have no legal powers to fine for breaches of guidance
Everyone who has been fined so far should have their fine refunded, with a letter of apology signed by none other than the prime minister.

He went for a birthday party??!

Well that explains the apparently insane no childcare exists anywhere outside Durham and I have Covid, I'm about to get terribly ill so I'm putting my four year old in a car and driving hours north to dump him on my parents/sister/it keeps changing stuff.

Indefensible. Absolutely indefensible. People have missed birthday parties, they've missed the deaths of family members, weddings, funerals, because he and his team said so.

Pps are losing their shit with this because they don’t like Cumming
Of course they don’t like him. What is there to like? There are so many people around the country whose loved ones have died alone because the families were following the guidelines. How does that make you feel? It’s impossible to forget something like this.
Why should Cummings get away with this? What’s so special?

Pps saying he could have put his child into care utilising services available, but I do not know any parent who would choose to do this.

No they have said that family could have visited him if necessary. It appears that he also has family in London.

Pps are losing their shit with this because they don’t like Cummings, and because they see it as a route of attacking Boris and the govt over the Covid crisis response.

They are 'losing their shit' because people have been asked to do really difficult things to 'protect the NHS and save lives' and we are now being told by the government that it was all optional.

Venus the pint is that they got in a car whilst apparently very ill and they travelled 260 miles.
The rules were clear you could travel to provide essential care. The families members should have travelled and isolated with the family or travelled to collect the child.

Saying that DC did nothing wrong and, in fact acted in an entirely reasonable manner is stupid. It means that people with Covid symptoms - particularly if they have children - have more freedom of movement than people who don’t have Covid symptoms.

And the tone of the ministers defending DC bothers me. Firstly, it implies that we are all too stupid to understand the rules properly. Secondly, it suggests that anyone who wouldn’t have done what DC did doesn’t live their kids enough. It makes me so angry.

I'm shuddering at the thought of driving 200+ miles with a four year old in an enclosed space while having Coronovrus, stopping at motorway services multiple times (bc that's what you have to do with a four year old) and generally merrily shedding virus all over the M1 corridor. Jesus.

Shapps tried to deflect once.
It did not go well. Nobody wanted to talk trains.

He went for his 71 year old mothers birthday party. That is what is on Twitter.

Interesting question. If people were discussing this on MN weeks ago then the media will have had an idea weeks ago. So why the delay in reporting? I suspect it was proof to avoid a slander accusation. Any other ideas?

'I'm shuddering at the thought of driving 200+ miles with a four year old in an enclosed space while having Coronovrus, stopping at motorway services multiple times (bc that's what you have to do with a four year old'

Maybe they went at night and he slept. That said, again they shouldn't have gone even if it was reasonable to do so, surely one of them could have predicted the furore once found out. Was this before or after Calderwood's weekends away?

It has totally detracted from what the MSM should be focusing on.

@tara66 I agree I’ve seen nothing about DC that is clever. He came up with the Brexit slogan. So what? It was about galvanizing the worst parts of ourselves. Nothing clever about that.

Neil Ferguson and the Scottish medical advisor should sue him and his pals.

Neil Ferguson and Scotland's Chief Medical Officer clearly broke the rules more than once, over several weeks. Nicola Sturgeon initially
stood by her CMO.

I wonder where the Child's welfare came into the equation if they were put into a car to be exposed to someone who was vomiting with Covid-19 symptoms for the many hours travelling right across the length of England.

I find that a little disappointing. My plan is, and was, to minimise any exposure to my youngster if I get Covid-19.

Also, I think if true (and I don't see why they would spin), the police should be very annoyed that those in and advising gov't were publicly denying what happened.

Saying that DC did nothing wrong and, in fact acted in an entirely reasonable manner is stupid. It means that people with Covid symptoms - particularly if they have children - have more freedom of movement than people who don’t have Covid symptoms.

Absolutely.