Published 01:25 IST, May 26th 2020
Cummings admits taking third trip amid lockdown, says 'I don't regret what I did'
UK PM’s adviser Cummings has not only admitted taking a third trip during nationwide lockdown but has also said that he ‘doesn’t regret’ his decisions.
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UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s adviser Dominic Cummings has not only admitted taking a third trip during nationwide lockdown but has also said that he ‘doesn’t regret’ his decision. While Cummings is under scrutiny for travelling while the government protocol had asked all citizens to remain indoors to curb the further spread of deadly coronavirus, he confirmed having taken a ‘test drive’ to Barnard Castle along with wife and son.
Cummings, in a press conference outside Downing Street, said that the third trip was to Barnard Castle, 30 minutes away, to check if he could make a 300-mile trip back to London as he had developed COVID-19 symptoms. UK PM’s adviser even revealed that his eyesight had been affected with the disease and during that ‘short’ trip, the family spotted a passer-by but none of the family members went near the individual adhering to social distancing norms.
Meanwhile, Cummings' decision to defy the government’s ‘stay at home’ orders has led to many Tory MP’s calling for his resignation.
'Exceptional measures'
However, citing ‘exceptional measures’ to make those trips, UK PM’s adviser had earlier said that he will ‘obviously not’ resign for going to Durham from London at the end of March. In the press conference, Cummings said, “I don’t regret what I did” and added that he was “trying to balance all of these very complicated things” like ensuring the healthcare of his four-year-old son.
Johnson’s top aide even said that he “wasn’t looking for loopholes” in the government rules to justify his series of trips and added, “It’s not a simple matter of regulations...It doesn’t say you should stay at home in all circumstances”.
Moreover, hours after Johnson backed his adviser’s actions as “reasonable”, Cummings admitted that he had not sought UK PM’s permission in advance. According to Cummings, Johnson “had a million things on his plate” but both officials had discussed the matter nearly seven days after the trips were made. According to reports, Johnson’s adviser said that he can not approach the UK PM “all day asking what do you think about this”. However, Cummings added, “Maybe, I should have done”.
Speaking about UK's main opposition party calling for an urgent investigation into the matter, Cummings took to Twitter and said that he would soon reveal a new "idiot-proof" slogan for Brexit so that people can let go of his "little outing(s)".
I’ll be revealing our new idiot proof slogan this afternoon #BackToBrexit so we can all forget about my little outing(s)
— Dominic Cummings (@DominicCumins) May 25, 2020
Image Source: AP
01:25 IST, May 26th 2020