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Dominic Cummings may have broken the lock rule, police said
The Durham police found after an investigation that Cummings’s 26-mile trip to Barnard Palace “might be a minor violation of regulations that would require police intervention.”
No further police action will be taken against Cummings, and police say they do not consider him to have committed an offense by driving some 260 miles from London to Durham to move his family while they isolate themselves.
But Thursday’s announcement from the police gave another twist to the scandal that threatened to derail Johnson’s response to the pandemic.
Cummings and the Prime Minister have repeatedly insisted that he did nothing wrong by driving from London to Durham in late March, or by visiting Barnard Castle in mid-April on his way back to London.
Cummings claimed on Monday that he was driving for half an hour into the city just to test his eyesight and check whether he could indeed drive safely – a claim that was greeted with skepticism by critics and some lawmakers.
At that time, Johnson urged Britons to “stay home,” and government guidance allowed people to leave home once a day to exercise but not go to other locations to do it.
Johnson’s reaction to the police announcement showed he would not back down in favor of Cummings. “Police have made it clear that they did not take action against Cummings because his own isolation and going to Durham did not violate regulations,” a Downing Street spokesman said on Thursday.
“The Prime Minister says he believes Mr. Cummings is behaving naturally and lawfully, given all the circumstances, and he considers this matter closed.”
But a growing group of lawmakers called on Cummings – seen by many as the architect of many government policies – to resign, accusing Johnson of undermining his own public health message amid the pandemic.
“Boris Johnson’s unwillingness or inability to do the right thing has made the government appear unreliable and unprincipled,” Labor Party leader Keir Starmer said on Thursday. “At worst, he undermines public health advice that makes us all safe, just to keep an assistant at work. The health of our country takes precedence.”
On Wednesday, Johnson said he understood the “anger” that might be felt by the public over Cummings’ actions, adding: “But I think what they want now is for us to focus on them and their needs rather than on political ding dong about one advisor maybe or maybe are not done. “
CNN, Sarah Dean and Luke McGee contributed reporting.
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