Dominic Cummings using his child's autism as an excuse

[Almahart]

So it looks as if the next excuse to be wheeled out is that Dominic Cumming's child is autistic.

My child is autistic. I know many families with autistic children.

This is what I have heard of happening for these families during Coronavirus:

• no school (yes I know schools should be taking vulnerable children. But many are not)
• no respite
• no transport to school even if they are open
• regular activities cancelled
• the fear that provision provided by local authorities through Education Health and Care Plans and suspended under the Coronavirus Act will slowly disappear

I know of many single parents alone with their child who are seriously struggling and who did not break the rules during lockdown.

To use autism as an excuse is beyond low. It is revolting and has made me even angrier than I was before

Yay whoever you are Journalist. People up and down this country are suffering and have sacrificed. Why are you so different?

Who amongst hasnt driven a car with our loved ones inside to see if our eyes still work

(I missed her name).

The press are to blame for this mess. They are a disgrace for making something out of nothing.

he didn't come into contact with anyone else - according to him and his shiny new story.

Oh i am tired of this. There is no family in this entire coutnry who has not had to make decisions. Most of us have made decisions for the greater good. For some of us this has meant greater sacrifices than others.

Anyway- the questions hese journalists are asking to me make it seem that they know it is a bunch of bolleaux.

We're all tired of this. The press are disgusting me.

30 miles Sabrina. Takes a while and a drive to a local beauty spot on your wife's birthday to ensure your eyes are working.

One of the jobs of the press is to expose hypocrisy.

Hypocrisy never goes down well. Especially when it comes from the people who are instructing the country how to behave and what to do in a time of crisis.

I have an autistic child too and I can't get worked up about this. He seems to be being set up as a scapegoat for the shitshow.

Sertchgi123

We're

You don’t speak for anyone else and certainly not the 90% of people on this site who think he is out of order.

Sertchgi123

I don't think Cummings has anything to apologise for. He was clearly protecting his family unit. He didn't come into contact with anyone else, I just wish the press would STFU about it. ASTRO turf at its finest.

I did watch and erm his child's autism didn't come up.

His child doesn't have autism. If they did then he would surely have got that one in. It wasn't mentioned even once.

No the "child's health" that Boris muttered about must have been the visit to hospital with what appears to have been a stomach bug, but must none the less have been stressful for the parents.

Mumsnet has deleted the thread which shows that 90% of its users think that Cummings should be sacked.

There are screenshots sorry Dominic.

Well I can put my hand on my heart that my children have not left their home apart from exercise in two months...meanwhile a family member who is sharing the petition to get DC sacked has allowed his children to go to their mum’s knowing that she takes them somewhere else to mix with another family...and then his new partner also sends her child to his dad’s to mix with other people and then they all come back to the same house...hypocritical or what!!!

@Sertchgi123 it’s nothing to do with the media, I watched his speech and he was in the wrong. He drove to Durham when his wife had symptoms and they should have been at home. He drove to Barnard castle and had a walk on Easter Sunday (which was also his wife’s birthday btw) neither of which were allowed at that time. He stopped on the way back and his wife and child played in the woods and they all had a walk in the woodland, again not allowed at that time. He says he went there for childcare, but didn’t actually need it? If he had needed it then maybe that could be covered by the ‘childcare needed’ clause he keeps banging on about, but the fact that he thought that he MIGHT need it is not valid. I’m angry because so many people have stuck to the rules and he hasn’t. I’m angry because he helped to create the rules we have been expected to follow and he hasn’t done. I’m angry because he thinks the rules don’t apply to him. I’m angry because he doesn’t understand the impact or consequences of his actions. I’m angry because of him, not because of the media

I admire Cummings for safeguarding his four year old child.

On the subject of you being angry, you only know about all of this because of the media. You are being played by deeply unpleasant journalists, who are having a field day with someone's life.

@Sertchgi it is the job of the press to hold those in power to account. It is right that they are reporting on this given that this whole debacle has exposed just how much power this unelected individual wields, to the point where our PM would rather discredit himself and embarrass our country further, against the wishes of his own MPs, than sack him.

If you’re happy with this state of affairs then feel free to ignore the press coverage.

Sertchgi123

I admire Cummings for safeguarding his four year old child.

On the subject of you being angry, you only know about all of this because of the media. You are being played by deeply unpleasant journalists, who are having a field day with someone's life.

He spread the virus from London to Durham and lied about it.
No amount of astroturfing is going to fix this. He obviously has little regard for his family If he exposed them while sick, doesn’t care about the people of Durham or the police who he lied about.
This is not going to go away and if there is widespread ignoring of lockdown it’s on his head.
He has undermined public confidence in the lockdown and it’s going to get nasty.
Can you imagine being a policeman trying to get people to comply now?
They will laugh in their face.

@Topseyt "His child doesn't have autism. If they did then he would surely have got that one in. It wasn't mentioned even once."
He didn't mention it because they leaked that to see how it would play and it played badly. Hence the 30 minute delay whilst I imagine they did a quick rewrite.

There is nothing in that statement that made me think his actions were reasonable.

He did not apologise once and indeed he said he didn't regret his actions, in other words he would do the same thing again.

He should be investigated driving with his eyesight being affected.

Boris's embarrassing defence of him.

There was nothing exceptional about his circumstances. Millions of us have children and millions are going to get Covid, this was not a safeguarding issue.

Notice how he got medical advice to travel back to London but not to go, when he was possibly infected because he would have been told no.

If it was so innocent why did he lie and lie again about it.

He only does things briefly apparently.

If his home is under attack in London why only go to his parents when he is ill.

Why does he still think this is okay

What does he have on Boris?

He needs to go.

He drove 260 miles to Durham because of an apparent security risk when we were under lockdown and the streets were deserted. He drove another 30 mes to a beauty spot on his wife's birthday to test his eye sight. It's just rubbish.

I don't think Cummings has anything to apologise for. He was clearly protecting his family unit.
He should have protected his family unit and everyone else by isolating immediately in his current London residence. He chose to drive to a second home which others have resigned for when they weren't even infected. Had his second residence been in Devon there's a good chance the police would have stopped him en route. He just believes he is superior.