Messages flood in to Labour MPs over Dominic Cummings' lockdown trip

In an extraordinary press conference on Monday, Boris Johnson’s chief adviser insisted he had acted “reasonably” and within the law and said he did not regret driving 260 miles just days into the lockdown.

The previous day, the Prime Minister defended his senior aide, telling the nation during the daily No 10 press briefing that he had acted “responsibly, legally and with integrity”.

READ > Tory councillors think Dominic Cummings should resign over lockdown row

Giving a detailed account of events on Monday, Mr Cummings said he decided to travel to his parents’ farm in Durham after his wife took ill on March 27.

He said he believed he may had contracted COVID-19 and was worried if he and his wife became seriously ill, there was nobody in London that they could “reasonably ask” to look after their son.

Mr Cumming said he and his wife, the journalist Mary Wakefield, and his four-year-old son, stayed in an isolated cottage on his parents’ farm.

Two weeks later, on April 12, Mr Cummings drove to the market town of Barnard Castle – on his wife’s birthday – where he was spotted by members of the public sitting along a riverbank.

Mr Cummings said he took the trip to test his eyesight, to see if he was able to drive back to London so he could return to work.

Since the first story broke on Friday, Conor McGinn, MP for St Helens South, said he has received more than one hundred messages from people who are “justifiably angry and upset”.

Mr McGinn said: “Many outlined the huge sacrifices they have made, and the traumatic consequences of following the rules and not their instincts; from missing the funerals of close relatives, to not being able to see their grandchildren or say goodbye to dying loved ones in person, and struggling at home without any childcare support or even losing their jobs.

“They feel insulted and let-down by the Prime Minister and his support for Dominic Cummings, and are now questioning the very credibility of the government and its public health messages.

“I want to thank everyone across St Helens borough who has made those difficult choices and sacrifices by following the rules. By staying home, they protected the NHS and saved lives.

“It’s just a shame that those in government, who told us to do precisely that, didn’t do it themselves. It appears to be one rule for those at the top and another for everyone else.”

Conor McGinn, Labour MP for St Helens North

Mr Cummings’ trip to Durham during lockdown was the focus of a joint investigation by the Guardian and the Mirror.

After the story broke on Friday evening, several cabinet members leapt to Mr Cummings’ defence, before a second story broke, detailing Mr Cummings’ trip to Barnard Castle.

Initially, there had been some doubts from detractors that there would be little interest in the story outside the Westminster bubble, but that appears to have been misjudged.

“Over the course of the weekend I have never received so many individually written emails,” said Marie Rimmer, Labour MP for St Helens South and Whiston.

“So many constituents have been in touch, angry about the sense of entitlement that Cummings and Johnson displayed.

“In fact, there were heart-breaking emails from several constituents who had not been able to say a final goodbye to loved ones as they’d been doing the right thing by following the rules.

“The Prime Minister and the government have destroyed public confidence in the health advice they are giving, all to protect an unelected adviser that broke the lockdown.

“My worry now is that this leads to others doing the same and the rate of infection going up.”

Marie Rimmer, MP for St Helens South and Whiston

Ms Rimmer, the former leader of St Helens Council, has accused Mr Cummings and the Prime Minister of trying to “mislead” the public over their handling of the controversy.

And the Labour whip does not believe Mr Cumming’s explanation surrounding Barnard Castle, saying it was “not plausible”.

“The Prime Minister and Dominic Cummings are trying to take the country for fools,” Ms Rimmer said.

“A 30-mile test drive to a local beauty spot to check your eyesight, with your wife and young child in the car does not seem plausible.

“It just so happened to be his wife’s birthday of course, even though so many people have had to celebrate their own in lockdown over the past couple of months. Over the course of the weekend I genuinely could not believe what I heard from the pair of them.

“Had the Prime Minister or Cummings simply came out to apologise, rather than trying to mislead everyone, I think people would have been more sympathetic to the excuses offered.

“But instead Cummings insisted that he had no regrets.”