Published 08:01 IST, May 26th 2020
United Kingdom PM Boris Johnson regrets 'pain and confusion' caused by Cummings incident
United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson expressed his regrets over the pain and confusion caused over his top aide Dominic Cummings' travel amid lockdown.
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United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson expressed his regrets over the pain and confusion caused by his top aide Dominic Cummings. Johnson's remarks came during the daily coronavirus press conference held after Cummings' own press conference on Monday, May 25.
Johnson regrets the pain caused, Cummings doesn't regret actions
"Do I regret what has happened? Yes, of course I do regret the confusion and the anger and the pain that people feel. This is a country that has been going through the most tremendous difficulties and suffering in the course of the last 10 weeks and that’s why I really did want people to understand exactly what had happened,” Boris Johnson said to the British media.
Cummings, during his press conference, had sparked critical response as he said that he did not regret driving 250 miles (400 km) to his parents’ house during a nationwide lockdown. He also insisted that he didn't believe there was "one rule for (him) and one rule for other people."
In a rare televised statement, Cummings gave a detailed account of his movements in late March and early April, which have caused an intense political storm in the United Kingdom. Cummings explained that he had undertaken the journey so that extended family could care for his 4-year-old son if he and his wife both fell ill.
Cummings' trip came after the government imposed a strict “stay home” order, and the official has been accused of flouting the same rules he helped impose on the rest of the country. Cummings insisted that “the rules … allowed me to exercise my judgment.” The British government faced accusations of hypocrisy on Saturday after the revelation.
Leading British newspapers reported that Cummings, who lives in London, was seen at the property in Durham, northeast England, at the end of March. A lockdown that began March 23 stipulated that people should remain at their primary residence, leaving only for essential local errands and exercise, and not visit relatives. Moreover, anyone with symptoms was told to completely isolate themselves.
Johnson's government is also facing accusations of hypocrisy as critics recollect that Scotland's former chief medical officer Catherine Calderwood had to resign because of similar violation last month after she travelled to her second home amid lockdown.
As per reports, Epidemiologist Neil Ferguson, a scientific adviser to the UK government, also had to step down earlier this month after media reports emerged that his partner had travelled to London to stay with him amid lockdown.
08:01 IST, May 26th 2020