Dominic Cummings alleged breach of lockdown rules discussion

[trebor79]

The press really ought to investigate what Dominic Cummings got up to as a young man, when he was working in his uncles nightclub...
I grew up in Durham, I remember Klute well at the time he was working there.

 

[westv]

He did what he did. He can't go back and change things. What's the point in going on and on about it? Their won't be an apology because, as far as he is concerned, he did the best he could and followed the advice as he read it.

 

[Ianno87]

He did what he did. He can't go back and change things. What's the point in going on and on about it? Their won't be an apology because, as far as he is concerned, he did the best he could and followed the advice as he read it.

It needs to be followed through, otherwise a massive "lockdown doesn't matter" signal gets sent to the entire national, very prematurely.

 

[greyman42]

I could not care less about where he drove from, where he drove to and when he did it. What does bother me is that the economy is going down the pan and a lot of people could not seem to care less.

 

[westv]

It needs to be followed through, otherwise a massive "lockdown doesn't matter" signal gets sent to the entire national, very prematurely.

Stable horse and bolted. Lockdown is slowly being eased. The economy needs to recover. People will lose their jobs. Move on.

 

[Neptune]

He says he was following this advice

If you are living with children
Keep following this advice to the best of your ability, however, we are aware that not all these measures will be possible.

I think he’s stretched his interpretation of the rules to beyond the limits. What he’s added today is even worse than what we all feared. If someone was worried about driving with impaired vision due to this disease the worst thing you can do is a 60 mile Round trip with your family in the car. He didn’t know whether he would come into contact with someone. What if he’d broken down or had a crash. The only regret this bloke has is that he was caught out.

Put it this way, my parents live 150 miles away. If me and/or my wife had COVID i wouldn’t dream of risking a trip to there’s.

 

[Mojo]

Was the Downing st event even legal? are large gatherings in your garden not still illegal

You are allowed to leave home for work. And this was a workplace event.

 

[SteveM70]

He did what he did. He can't go back and change things. What's the point in going on and on about it? Their won't be an apology because, as far as he is concerned, he did the best he could and followed the advice as he read it.

If driving 60 miles to test his eyesight whilst his family were in the car is good judgement, you really ought to be questioning whether it’s right that the same brain should be exercising its judgement on the running of the country

He’s arrogant and thinks he’s untouchable, and unfortunately for everyone else Boris is doing everything he can to keep him that way

 

[Mojo]

Plenty of drivers are stupid enough to actually do that.

I don’t know the area and what type of roads are involved but I’m quite intimidated by long drives on fast roads such as motorways (which the A1 effectively is), but I quite enjoy driving around town and on country roads. My partner’s family is from the north and I will often drive the hour to the A1 and he will drive the rest of the way back to London.

 

[Mogster]

Put it this way, my parents live 150 miles away. If me and/or my wife had COVID i wouldn’t dream of risking a trip to there’s.

From Twitter his child has autism, his uncle had died that weekend also, the trip home and the bereavement are too close together to be a coincidence imo. I thought he may have mentioned his personal and family circumstances in his briefing but then he probably quite rightly decided people would say he was using them as an excuse. Of course other people have had to deal with these things.

He came over as more human than I expected, I thought he would have showed more contrition but then he clearly doesn’t believe he did anything wrong. We need to move on from this now.

 

[Ianno87]

Stable horse and bolted. Lockdown is slowly being eased. The economy needs to recover. People will lose their jobs. Move on.

Which needs to be done in a gradual controlled way, not a sudden free for all.

 

[Yew]

Rumour has it that Specsavers are installing Go Karting tracks to help people test their vision...

 

[alex397]

I watched the full announcement. I have sympathy for his predicament, but I really don't think he can still justify his actions, especially the 60 mile round trip to test his driving, with wife and child, and especially being in such a powerful position as his. Being in such a prominent position in government, surely there could have been another option rather than driving to Durham - there must be people who could have helped!
I would have had more respect if he admitted he misjudged the situation and apologised. Even saying something like, "at the time I thought it was the right decision, but now I can see it was not and i'm sorry' - something like that. But he appears far too arrogant to admit any wrongdoing - he suits the current cabinet well!

 

[Esker-pades]

Basically the Prime Minister is refusing to ask all Cummings-related questions. Probably because he'll mess up and contradict the account.

 

[stevetay3]

You are allowed to leave home for work. And this was a workplace event.

So the Downing st garden is a workplace now, hope thay all read the health and safety notices.

 

[Bayum]

He went way beyond what was expected of every single person in this country at that time and got himself caught. His statement and questions were like watching a child try and climb out of the hole they’ve spent the last ten minutes digging.

 

[Busaholic]

Which people? Cummings didn't kill anybody.

So far as is known, Hitler killed nobody himself, but I wouldn't choose that analogy if I sought to defend him i.e. Cummings.

 

[nlogax]

I'm just surprised that as an unelected advisor, Cummings' announcement was permitted to be held in the Rose Garden of 10 Downing St.

Almost instant edit: no..actually, why would I even be surprised? He pretty much runs the place.

 

[Darandio]

I'm just surprised that as an unelected advisor, Cummings' announcement was permitted to be held in the Rose Garden of 10 Downing St.

Almost instant edit: no..actually, why would I even be surprised? He pretty much runs the place.

I was about to say before your edit, it pretty much gives a good indication of his standing within this government. He's untouchable, the only person that can sack Cummings is Cummings. Even in this daily briefing, Johnson is dodging questions left right and centre, he daren't say a critical word about the situation.

 

[83A]

I think most ophthalmologists will agree that if you don't have access to the necessary testing equipment then the best way to check if you're partially blind is to take the old family on a 60 mile drive.

You sir have won the internet with that comment today..... we can all go home now

 

[111-111-1]

Not surprise that kid needed a wee in the bushes on the optical visit to Barnard Castle, how did it manage to do a 260 mile trip to Durham without wee stop.

 

[baz962]

I wonder . As a train driver , could I just drive from one terminus to another to check my eyesight. Save on a medical.

 

[Djgr]

From Twitter his child has autism, his uncle had died that weekend also, the trip home and the bereavement are too close together to be a coincidence imo. I thought he may have mentioned his personal and family circumstances in his briefing but then he probably quite rightly decided people would say he was using them as an excuse. Of course other people have had to deal with these things.

He came over as more human than I expected, I thought he would have showed more contrition but then he clearly doesn’t believe he did anything wrong. We need to move on from this now.

Well we have to. But Boris' standing has plummeted going forward. Not of course that it matters because the Great British Public voted for these clowns for the next 4 and a half years.

 

[scotrail158713]

So far as is known, Hitler killed nobody himself, but I wouldn't choose that analogy if I sought to defend him i.e. Cummings.

Perfect comparison

 

[westv]

So far as is known, Hitler killed nobody himself, but I wouldn't choose that analogy if I sought to defend him i.e. Cummings.

Godwin's law arrives.

 

[Kingspanner]

The only explanation for Cummings still having a job is that he knows where the bodies are buried. It is not what you know, or who you know, it is what you know about who you know that counts.
Ill open the bidding with "knows who all of Boris' children are"

 

[JonathanH]

I'm just surprised that as an unelected advisor, Cummings' announcement was permitted to be held in the Rose Garden of 10 Downing St.

Where else was it meant to be held? It couldn't be inside because of the need for social distancing. How many outside studios or meeting places would be available at short notice? In this instance a video meeting would not have been as effective as a conference in person.

 

[CaptainHaddock]

It needs to be followed through, otherwise a massive "lockdown doesn't matter" signal gets sent to the entire national, very prematurely.

Maybe that's the whole point? We know that an awful lot of people are now terrified of leaving their homes because the "stay home save lives" message worked too well.

Whatever the rights or wrongs of Dominic Cummings's actions, people will now start to think "well if he can break the lockdown guidelines, why shouldn't I?". Which can only be a good thing if it means we come out of lockdown a lot quicker.

 

[CD]

The only explanation for Cummings still having a job is that he knows where the bodies are buried. It is not what you know, or who you know, it is what you know about who you know that counts.
Ill open the bidding with "knows who all of Boris' children are"

Or who he was having sex with while his partner was giving birth.

 

[Harbon 1]

The 12th April castle trip happened to coincide with his wife's 45th birthday as well. Nah, must be a coincidence!