Well, according to the BBC: "A spokesman for the force [Durham Constabulary] said officers made contact with the owners of the address who confirmed the individual in question was present and was self-isolating in part of the house."
So not in a separate house according to that version. And indeed, online sources appear to show only one house, described as a 4 bedroom detached property. And if they were in "part of the house", that part included a kitchen according to the Spectator account.
I'm very sceptical about the idea there could have been three separate houses - the parents' house, the sister's house where the child would have been taken care of if necessary and another house where the Cummingses self-isolated. It looks to me as though they were all in the same house.
Not that I think it makes what Cummings did acceptable, but the government's aim during lockdown was to manage the macro rather than the micro.
The only time I can recall the government picking on any group of individuals was when one of them (Hancock, I think) had a pop at footballers.
Of course, they didn't ride to the rescue of Ferguson - though Shapps thinks that was because what he did wasn't understandable.
Ferguson complicates the rest. Too many cabinet ministers condemned him for what was technically not a breach of law, when they should have known right well that a number of their own colleagues may have actually breached the law (and the same goes for other political parties).
The Tories never learn that lesson so constantly get hoisted by their own petard. It's Major's Family Values (or whatever it was called ) all over again.
The problem for the government is that, unlike other scandals involving faceless ministers or govt aides that get political anoraks worked up but no one else cares about, everyone is tuned into politics more than ever because of the crisis.
Let's scrap the lockdown>end furlough>get the economy going!
"End furlough" - so those people whose businesses can't or won't re-open have to sign on or claim UC. I didn't know you were such a fan of welfare.
We get rid of the lockdown rules so businesses should be viable. Those which can't survive will have to find alternative activities and/or their employees will have to find alternative work. It's called real world economics.
Agree I don't like welfare. Make UC only available after 3 months and then for a maximum of 6 months will ensure people have to find work
Thanks for that Mr Duncan Smith.
Oooh hope HYUFD likes my post!
Personally I support UC but while I support sanctions if you are not looking for work I do not support time limited welfare provided you are following the rules
Nobody in the general public knows who he is. A media bubble story that will go away.
Still, the media are still mad about Brexit, Boris's election victory and the actual departure on January 31st 2020.
it reminds me of how Labour and their media mates attacked Lord Ashcroft in 2010 when as now, its a no name to the vast mass of people
That's a keeper.
"Ministers squirm as they insist Dominic Cummings did NOT break rules by driving 260 miles to parents' home with his family while he was in coronavirus self-isolation - as maverick No10 chief insists he 'doesn't care' if it looks bad "
The actual headline on Daily Mail website now.
Think this is a media bubble? Out in the real world we are bloody furious.
Fellow walkers said they were taken aback to see the Prime Minister’s senior official so far from London at the height of the lockdown on April 19.
That seems okay to me - so long as they had been clear of the virus for two weeks.
tay home. Protect the NHS. Drive 250 miles to Durham. Pretend you're at home.
Well, I think the original story is more than enough to get Cummings the sack. But I'd suggest The Mirror should be careful not to move attention to what he did whilst in Durham if it was within the rules of lockdown.
EDIT: If he did return to Durham then he really is done for.
Although I am a pedantic lawyer and have been banging on about whether he breached the law all day, politically, that is not the issue. People are supportive of the lockdown because they are worried that they or their family might get this. So they will condemn a symptomatic person, indeed any person, travelling for that reason - nothing to do with party affiliations or Brexit views. Polling repeatedly shows many don’t want their kids back at school because they are scared of them getting the bug.
So the Tory message “this is fine, think of his kid, he’s just being a good dad” fundamentally misses the point. People will reply “yes, but what about MY kids and family - you have just brought your virus 250 miles.”.
I'll eat my hat if this hasn't cut right through to middle england and they are absolutely fucking furious.
They were also furious with the photo of the boy lying on the hospital floor ... for two days, and then they forgot about it. I remain utterly perplexed with the obsession with ephemera on here.
Not ephemera. People are scared of Covid-19 so they are scared of carriers travelling with it. This is going to hurt you badly.
Fellow walkers said they were taken aback to see the Prime Minister’s senior official so far from London at the height of the lockdown on April 19.
That seems okay to me - so long as they had been clear of the virus for two weeks.
tay home. Protect the NHS. Drive 250 miles to Durham. Pretend you're at home.
Well, I think the original story is more than enough to get Cummings the sack. But I'd suggest The Mirror should be careful not to move attention to what he did whilst in Durham if it was within the rules of lockdown.
THe point being that under the rules of lockdown, he shouldn’t have been in Durham to start with.
I'll eat my hat if this hasn't cut right through to middle england and they are absolutely fucking furious.
They were also furious with the photo of the boy lying on the hospital floor ... for two days, and then they forgot about it. I remain utterly perplexed with the obsession with ephemera on here.
Not ephemera. People are scared of Covid-19 so they are scared of carriers travelling with it. This is going to hurt you badly.
Yes, ephemera. In 4 years' time Covid will be long gone one way or another, and the rights and wrongs of Cummings' going to Durham will be utterly irrelevant.
Fellow walkers said they were taken aback to see the Prime Minister’s senior official so far from London at the height of the lockdown on April 19.
That seems okay to me - so long as they had been clear of the virus for two weeks.
tay home. Protect the NHS. Drive 250 miles to Durham. Pretend you're at home.
Well, I think the original story is more than enough to get Cummings the sack. But I'd suggest The Mirror should be careful not to move attention to what he did whilst in Durham if it was within the rules of lockdown.
THe point being that under the rules of lockdown, he shouldn’t have been in Durham to start with.
I know - I've since edited my post to say what you've said about him having returned to Durham.
If he did go back, then I think Johnson should be resigning too.
I'll eat my hat if this hasn't cut right through to middle england and they are absolutely fucking furious.
They were also furious with the photo of the boy lying on the hospital floor ... for two days, and then they forgot about it. I remain utterly perplexed with the obsession with ephemera on here.
Many a mickle makes a muckle, is the answer to that. This continues a narrative which began with Johnson and Cummings getting themselves infected through sheer laziness and incompetence and another one about Jenrick and Ferguson ignoring the rules.
I'll eat my hat if this hasn't cut right through to middle england and they are absolutely fucking furious.
They were also furious with the photo of the boy lying on the hospital floor ... for two days, and then they forgot about it. I remain utterly perplexed with the obsession with ephemera on here.
Not ephemera. People are scared of Covid-19 so they are scared of carriers travelling with it. This is going to hurt you badly.
Yes, ephemera. In 4 years' time Covid will be long gone one way or another, and the rights and wrongs of Cummings' going to Durham will be utterly irrelevant.
I'll eat my hat if this hasn't cut right through to middle england and they are absolutely fucking furious.
They were also furious with the photo of the boy lying on the hospital floor ... for two days, and then they forgot about it. I remain utterly perplexed with the obsession with ephemera on here.
Not ephemera. People are scared of Covid-19 so they are scared of carriers travelling with it. This is going to hurt you badly.
Yes, ephemera. In 4 years' time Covid will be long gone one way or another, and the rights and wrongs of Cummings' going to Durham will be utterly irrelevant.
Do you think all the people who die will have come back to life in four years' time?
One thing to note. The journalists were much-criticised for their near-repetition of questions in the press conferences. But it turns out that the government is claiming that there was small print all along. Its ability to claim that is much diminished by the many answers it gave to very similar questions.
If they wanted to troll their haters they should just say "It was only advisory"
That would be five minutes of private amusement at the expense of any ability to get things done from this point on with the cooperation of the public.
Shapps almost said as much today though, didnt he? And, given that no one has been arrested/prosecuted for breaching the lockdown, it seems it was only advisory
Yes and that was the real damage done today.
The government is going to need the public working with it in the coming months. It has now incinerated its moral authority to command. Perhaps the public will do what they want anyway. That must be very doubtful.
There were already concerns that people wouldn't isolate after being told that they were a contact of someone with Covid-19. You're asking people to do something very inconvenient and it's necessary that they do so for contact tracing to work to keep the virus under control.
No-one wants to be the last idiot following the rules when nobody else is.
Why is it serious? It would be if there were consequences, but that relies on honour and decency. Which were traded in for popularism by the Tory party in 2019.
The problem for the government is that, unlike other scandals involving faceless ministers or govt aides that get political anoraks worked up but no one else cares about, everyone is tuned into politics more than ever because of the crisis.
I think that's a very good point. I have friends who are glued to news programmes, theorising on every possible vaccine possibility, discussing "r", and looking for information as to when the pubs might reopen and the PL kick off again. Amazing what boredom does to a person! Government couldn't have chosen a worst time to come under close scrutiny.
I'll eat my hat if this hasn't cut right through to middle england and they are absolutely fucking furious.
They were also furious with the photo of the boy lying on the hospital floor ... for two days, and then they forgot about it. I remain utterly perplexed with the obsession with ephemera on here.
Not ephemera. People are scared of Covid-19 so they are scared of carriers travelling with it. This is going to hurt you badly.
Yes, ephemera. In 4 years' time Covid will be long gone one way or another, and the rights and wrongs of Cummings' going to Durham will be utterly irrelevant.
Do you think all the people who die will have come back to life in four years' time?
I was just thinking they should bring back Robin Day (although that might be a bit difficult...)
Why is it serious? It would be if there were consequences, but that relies on honour and decency. Which were traded in for popularism by the Tory party in 2019.
There is a problem with Populism when your message ain't popular. Ask J Corbyn.
Dale, Hartley Brewer, Montgomerie must be in the top most influential pro Brexit journalists. All saying its crystal clear he must go.
Cummings has few personal friends and has made a lot of enemies in the Tory Party.
Few bar Gove and Boris will shed a tear if he goes
That’s not fair. I will shed many tears. Admittedly I’m not in the Tory party. And I’m not quite sure tears of pure laughter are what you had in mind. But they’re still tears.
If what's being alleged is true, then I think the cabinet has a right to ask for Johnson's resignation over this.
Worth a punt on the date of BJ's departure if his thoughts are already straying in that direction? Though of course because this is not him being carried honourably out half dead of Corvid on his shield, it might stiffen his resolve.
Here in the Flatlands it is a meh, I'm afraid. He'll probably have to go although I can think of several government advisors that should have gone in the past but didn't. For a lot worse than driving to Durham.
What does annoy me is the rather frenzied hope that getting rid of him will stop Brexit in some way. It won't. We've already left.
Why is it serious? It would be if there were consequences, but that relies on honour and decency. Which were traded in for popularism by the Tory party in 2019.
There is a problem with Populism when your message ain't popular. Ask J Corbyn.
Yes, but we are four years away from it being a problem by which point it will be forgotten.
From a personal, rather than political or epidemiological point of view, the most disturbing thing about this is that I find myself in agreement with Piers Morgan.
Which I had always confidently predicted would never happen.
Here in the Flatlands it is a meh, I'm afraid. He'll probably have to go although I can think of several government advisors that should have gone in the past but didn't. For a lot worse than driving to Durham.
What does annoy me is the rather frenzied hope that getting rid of him will stop Brexit in some way. It won't. We've already left.
Is there one person on here who has said it will stop Brexit? (Which has already happened).
Some "remainers" have suggested it might lead to an extension, others said it makes an extension less likely.
You are getting annoyed by something you are imagining.
From a personal, rather than political or epidemiological point of view, the most disturbing thing about this is that I find myself in agreement with Piers Morgan.
Which I had always confidently predicted would never happen.
From a personal, rather than political or epidemiological point of view, the most disturbing thing about this is that I find myself in agreement with Piers Morgan.
Which I had always confidently predicted would never happen.
He has a strong opinion on everything, he cant be expected to get it wrong all the time with that many opinions no matter how hard he tries.
Actually I am not really bothered by this Dom thing or whether he stays or goes.
What is really important is that Boris next week delivers substantive progress on releasing the lockdown from 1 June ie as a minimum - enables all non essential retail to open - gets the schools open - allows families to meet without restriction.
If we don't get that then the support for the government will really start to fall away
PB Tories insist he's doing a great job of running the country.
I think he's got a great deal on a fridge
I wonder why lefties keep making the silly fridge jokes when Boris landslided you literally the day after climbing into one? If anything, they're his good luck charm
From a personal, rather than political or epidemiological point of view, the most disturbing thing about this is that I find myself in agreement with Piers Morgan.
Which I had always confidently predicted would never happen.
The worrying bit is not that I'm in agreement with Piers Morgan, it's the fact I've twice been in agreement with him this week.
Given that his job is to pick holes in Government policy to win viewers it shows how stupid the Government is being.
Actually I am not really bothered by this Dom thing or whether he stays or goes.
What is really important is that Boris next week delivers substantive progress on releasing the lockdown from 1 June ie as a minimum - enables all non essential retail to open - gets the schools open - allows families to meet without restriction.
If we don't get that then the support for the government will really start to fall away
Well they have done more for point 3 than they could possibly have imagined. Perhaps Dom is falling on the sword for the good of the country by getting us determined to start going out again.
He added: “I went home and told my wife, we thought he must be in London. I searched up the number plate later that day and my computer search history shows that.”
The last time I searched for details of a car registration, was when some swine dumped a car outside the house. All the DVLA check shows is if it is taxed, has an MOT, nothing to do with where it is from.
From a personal, rather than political or epidemiological point of view, the most disturbing thing about this is that I find myself in agreement with Piers Morgan.
Which I had always confidently predicted would never happen.
The worrying bit is not that I'm in agreement with Piers Morgan, it's the fact I've twice been in agreement with him this week.
Given that his job is to pick holes in Government policy to win viewers it shows how stupid the Government is being.
This is why I think Johnson could be gone over this.
There is a realistic chance he goes in the autumn for a mix of health, family and political reasons, but its not a big chance and cant happen whilst we are in the middle of a crisis.
From a personal, rather than political or epidemiological point of view, the most disturbing thing about this is that I find myself in agreement with Piers Morgan.
Which I had always confidently predicted would never happen.
The worrying bit is not that I'm in agreement with Piers Morgan, it's the fact I've twice been in agreement with him this week.
Given that his job is to pick holes in Government policy to win viewers it shows how stupid the Government is being.
I endorse your last sentence 100%
At a time we need leadership where is Boris
Boris must be ill surely
He may just be visiting family. It is the weekend, after all.
Comments
That seems okay to me - so long as they had been clear of the virus for two weeks.
"A spokesman for the force [Durham Constabulary] said officers made contact with the owners of the address who confirmed the individual in question was present and was self-isolating in part of the house."
So not in a separate house according to that version. And indeed, online sources appear to show only one house, described as a 4 bedroom detached property. And if they were in "part of the house", that part included a kitchen according to the Spectator account.
I'm very sceptical about the idea there could have been three separate houses - the parents' house, the sister's house where the child would have been taken care of if necessary and another house where the Cummingses self-isolated. It looks to me as though they were all in the same house.
This is going to do massively damage to this government and all for the sake of keeping a senior advisor whose best days were behind him.
Slow hand clap...
Drive back home to London then back to Durham whilst insisting others stay at home
Cummings standing on his doorstep saying he doesn't care how this looks is breathtaking arrogance.
The actual headline on Daily Mail website now.
Think this is a media bubble? Out in the real world we are bloody furious.
EDIT: If he did return to Durham then he really is done for.
So the Tory message “this is fine, think of his kid, he’s just being a good dad” fundamentally misses the point. People will reply “yes, but what about MY kids and family - you have just brought your virus 250 miles.”.
I stand by my prediction that he will be gone by Monday evening.
All that political capital wasted on a lost wicket.
If he did go back, then I think Johnson should be resigning too.
https://twitter.com/LadPolitics/status/1264266382805516289
No-one wants to be the last idiot following the rules when nobody else is.
Gerard Ratner moment if Boris is not careful
Sack him and try to heal the damage Boris ( and Boris is trying my patience)
Ask J Corbyn.
Few bar Gove and Boris will shed a tear if he goes
Edit - Sajid Javid must be laughing his head off.
Macmillan laid down his friends for his life.
Now Boris is laying down other people's lives for his friend.
As cabinet minister after cabinet minister jumped into the hole with their shovels aloft, waiting, watching, laughing uncontrollably...
Ladbrokes 4/7 he goes, 5/4 he stays.
PP/BF 1/2 and 6/4.
I've had another £11.70 at 6/4.
It went 4/1
https://twitter.com/benstarsports/status/1264257458790371334?s=21
What does annoy me is the rather frenzied hope that getting rid of him will stop Brexit in some way. It won't. We've already left.
Which I had always confidently predicted would never happen.
Some "remainers" have suggested it might lead to an extension, others said it makes an extension less likely.
You are getting annoyed by something you are imagining.
I think he's got a great deal on a fridge
What is really important is that Boris next week delivers substantive progress on releasing the lockdown from 1 June ie as a minimum
- enables all non essential retail to open
- gets the schools open
- allows families to meet without restriction.
If we don't get that then the support for the government will really start to fall away
Given that his job is to pick holes in Government policy to win viewers it shows how stupid the Government is being.
'But, but... you HAVE to give in to us ... you HAVE to...'
No, we don't
He added: “I went home and told my wife, we thought he must be in London. I searched up the number plate later that day and my computer search history shows that.”
The last time I searched for details of a car registration, was when some swine dumped a car outside the house. All the DVLA check shows is if it is taxed, has an MOT, nothing to do with where it is from.
At a time we need leadership where is Boris
Boris must be ill surely