The science has left the building (4)

[SouthWestmom]

New thread inspired by Whitty and Valance exiting stage right today

The Wooler story is gaining a bit of traction.

Thinking about it with hindsight it does seem odd that none of the journalists asked about Wakefield’s driving ability or specific movements. We were all shouting at the tv to ask about the wife.

I think they ‘know’ the story but didn’t have enough proof to bring it up. It wasn’t a trial in a courtroom (not yet) so they could only really question DC on the contents of the statement he read out. Peston did hint at it though as mentioned.

People commented on how that statement seemed lawyered and I think that is totally correct. Very carefully written not to give too much away.

There is also a possible sighting in the area on the 10th May. No idea about that yet.

If any of this is true then who the hell was running the country. Please don’t say Raab. We know Johnson was (is) still recovering and doesn’t do weekends but do none of these people work weekends. A work life balance is important but we are in the middle of a pandemic for gods sake.

There was a thread on here a while ago about private number plates and I said I would never have one. A white/silver Discovery parked in Barnard Castle or Wooler totally unremarkable. A white/silver Discovery with a very distinctive private number plate stands out a mile.

I think Preston knows a lot. And I think they know it the way Matt cut him off last night and moved on.

How do you come out as LGBT all at once? Especially if you’re a man? Though really nothing surprises me now.

I wish it was the case that the Govt had to reveal how many emails MP's have had - both for and against - about this.
I think this issue will have generated more emails than any Government have had on anything.

truepublica.org.uk/united-kingdom/dominic-cummings-a-cover-story-obscuring-something-far-darker/?fbclid=IwAR2GsVcqnHr2F8brVaNj89VQ9dSiqfuezfR-DBp_QVCa9zQKywGhnaTpMw4

This is really worth reading.

Scary.

This is Carole Cadwallader writing this bit of the article..
“This is the official machinery of the state. The civil service is now involved. And what they are saying in this statement contradicts a police report. So somebody is lying. The civil service? Or the police? Why does the Cummings story matter? And what does it obscure? The real story is the huge transfer of government assets to private companies that he is overseeing under cover of a pandemic while restructuring the Cabinet Office into his & Michael Gove’s private fiefdom. We have no insight into these contracts which did not go to tender but to Cummings’s friends & associates. Including a massive transfer of our most private, intimate NHS data. The privatisation of essential state functions is happening in real time in almost complete darkness. Cummings made absolutely clear his conditions for working in government were smashing civil service and rebuilding in his image and creating British ‘ARPA’ – an AI-driven research facility. That’s exactly what he’s doing right now in Cabinet Office with Gove his long-time co-conspirator. Sure, the hypocrisy and entitlement of Cummings is breathtaking but there’s a far darker story that it obscures and it’s why the focus must be on Johnson now and his decision to throw weight of his office – statement from No 10 – behind him.”

We should all be very worried

@itsgettingweird

I think Preston knows a lot. And I think they know it the way Matt cut him off last night and moved on.

Oh definitely. I think now it's just a case of when will they release the next breach of the rules, and how with BJ and DC try to spin it.

will not with

It appears that the Tory MPs have been sending an standard letter saying
" We do understand you are cross and will pass on your concern", then carry on regardless.

My Rory MP hasn't even bothered to respond. Not even to pretend she cares!

@itsgettingweird

My Rory MP hasn't even bothered to respond. Not even to pretend she cares!

I got an automated message about having a busy inbox, and nothing since.

I emailed mine and got an auto reply but she was on Twitter defending him so assuming will get nothing helpful.

I hope there is more to come (new) or this will be stuck under a carpet. PM will limp on. This is more on him though really. He should have got shot off DC.

I emailed mine for a third time this morning, nothing on her Facebook page so not holding out hope for a reply!

On GMB right now there is a fantastic journalist called Ella (can't catch her surname).

Really hitting the nail in the head.

Not all Tory MPs are responding like this. I got a personal response within 30 minutes of sending my email.

My Tory MP is absolutely not defending him, which surprises me as she normally toes the Govt line come what may.

That is, she’s calling for his resignation.

Sadly Dominic Raab hasn't managed to find time to respond to me.

I've had another thought and it's another question.

If we take his line that he was well enough to return to work and had been cleared to return to work why did it have to be physically? We'd all been told to wfh where we can.
He can write reports from home. He can have meetings via digital resources. He didn't need to be there for daily briefings as he's an advisor who works behind the scenes. I cannot think of 1 reason he actually only physically needed to be DS?
They'd managed without him physically there for 2 weeks.

@helenadove that is heartbreaking. I am sure the mother posted on here for support as well, I remember her. I hope if she is reading this now under a different name she knows how much a lot of us are thinking of her

It could become the new IQ test.

Question: you have been suffering with dodgy eyesight. Do you....

A) get in a car with 2 passengers and drive around roads and towns we here others are to see just how bad it actually is

Or do you

B) Stay at home?

Something that has occurred to me - did we know back a the end of March that teenagers weren't likely to get ill?

iirc, when lockdown began there were fears for young people; Ismail Abdulwahab died the last weekend in March, and I vividly remember having a conversation with my daughter after than when she told me that fears were growing that this wasn't just an "old people's" illness.

I can't imagine using teenagers as childcare for a Covid-positive family at that time. Obviously now we know it's reasonably "safe" for teenagers.

Does anyone know if you can eatch Prime Ministers Questions on mainstream tv ?

I meant to add; I don't believe he knew they had Covid when they left London. I think this was a planned trip for his mother's birthday, and to get his wife and child out of London where the Cabinet were dropping like flies.

I think the original intention was to leave them there, but then he got sick and had to stay too.

He should have said that at the start and apologised, and he might have got away with it under the "moving households for the duration" rule.

Something that has occurred to me - did we know back a the end of March that teenagers weren't likely to get ill?

I know there was a lot of worry about those over 70, and with additional health concerns. However, as far as I remember we knew very little about how it affected others, including children / teenagers.

@itsgettingweird I did not have an Oxbridge education. So the answer to that is tough. Especially when Specsavers is closed to all apart from key workers or emergencies.

It makes so much sense if she stayed there. If you had the option of London or the an estate in the country with a four year old near family. The answer makes sense.

Therefore they need to look into the possible fairy story she wrote for the spectator.

Prime Ministers Question time is shown on BBC parliament channel, I think it is also on iPlayer.
However there is no PMQ this week

Johnson is facing the Commons Liaison Committee today.