An MP responds:
Thank you for writing to me about the Dominic Cummings story. The volume of emails I have received about this are like nothing since I have become an MP. The outpouring of grief and dismay I have read from dozens upon dozens of constituents really proves how badly the Government has got this wrong.
I agree completely that there cannot be one rule for the Prime Minister’s senior advisor, and another for everyone else. The British people have made heart-wrenching sacrifices to support the national effort, including being away from family in times of need. To insist that Dominic Cummings did nothing wrong is insulting to the millions of people who have done the right thing, and in the process saved countless lives.
As you know, on Friday the Mirror reported that Dominic Cummings had broken lockdown to travel to Durham to stay on his family’s estate. The Government’s response to these allegations was initially to deny claims and dismiss the story from “campaigning newspapers”. As reports of further subsequent sightings of Dominic Cummings in Durham emerged, the Government claimed that the 260 mile trip was ‘essential’ and within the rules due to the need to seek childcare for Cummings’ four year old son, after his wife began displaying symptoms of COVID-19.
Mr Cummings’ actions fly in the face of Government guidance to ‘stay at home’ if anyone in your household displays symptoms of COVID-19; to not make long, unnecessary journeys; and certainly not while symptomatic. Despite Downing Street initially contesting the story, in his press conference on Monday Mr Cummings also confirmed, perhaps most ridiculously of all, that he drove to a beauty spot 40 minutes away from his family home in Durham with his wife and child in order to ’test his eyesight’ to ensure he was safe to drive back to London to work. The DVLA has confirmed that you should under no circumstances do this if you have concerns about your eyesight, and Durham Constabulary has today confirmed that this is a clear breach of the lockdown rules.
Since this story broke more than 100 constituents have written to me with stories about the agonising decisions they have had to make in order to comply with the guidance. People grieving in isolation, who have been unable to attend funerals; who have not been able to hold the hands of their loved ones as they passed away; and the doctors who have had to deliver that news.
The Prime Minister’s attempt to argue that Mr Cummings acted “responsibly and legally and with integrity and with the overwhelming aim of stopping the spread of the virus” is insulting to not only the intelligence of the British people, but the heart-rending sacrifices so many ordinary people have made. The Government has appeared willing to effectively tear up vital public health guidance in order to protect one man’s job.
I am concerned that public confidence in the public health guidance will be mortally wounded following this episode. These rules are there to protect all of us, and will remain vital if we are to successfully implement a track and trace system and transition safely out of the lockdown. SAGE member Professor Stephen Reicher has said this episode “undermines coronavirus rules and means more people will die”.
I know how strongly people feel about this issue, and I completely share your dismay. Labour’s leader Keir Starmer has said that if he was Prime Minister, he would have sacked Dominic Cummings. Boris Johnson should follow that advice.
Once again, I am grateful for you for raising this with me, and moreover your selfless adherence to the rules over this difficult past few months. Please, if you have any further queries, do not hesitate to get in touch.
Yours sincerely,
Preet Kaur Gill MP | Member of Parliament for Edgbaston