Dominic Cummings: UK Prime Minister’s chief adviser makes unprecedented statement after breaking lockdown rules

The chief adviser to British PM Boris Johnson has sparked fury after breaching lockdown rules by travelling 400 km to visit his family while ill but he says 'I don't regret what I did'.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's chief adviser says he understands public anger but "doesn't regret" his decision to travel 400 kilometres to stay near family during lockdown in a move that has sparked fury in the UK. 

The actions of Dominic Cummings have unleashed a wave of fury in Britain after it was revealed he drove from London to his parents house in Durham in the northeast of England when his wife was ill and he suspected he might have COVID-19.

On Monday, Mr Cummings addressed the nation on a public holiday in a rare statement for a special adviser to say "I don't regret what I did".

"Reasonable people may well disagree ...but I think that what I did was actually reasonable in these circumstances," he said in the Rose Garden of Downing Street. 

Mr Cummings said he understood that "British people hate the idea of unfairness" and "I don't think I'm so different and I don't think there is one rule for me and one rule for other people."

"Lots of people would be very angry and I completely understand that...this is a very complicated tricky situation."

"I understand the intense sacrifice and hardship the entire country has had to go through. However I respectfully disagree. I believe I made the right judgement though I can understand that others disagree with that," he said. 

Mr Cummings explained how on 27 March he went to work in Downing Street but got a call from his wife who was ill. He said "none of our usual childcare options were available" so he decided to travel to an "isolated cottage on my father's farm" where his young son could be looked after by family if necessary. 

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At the time, the government’s guidelines were to “stay home” and not travel anywhere unnecessarily, including second homes. Those with symptoms of the virus were told to isolate for seven days while those in their household had to isolate for 14 days to allow for the incubation period. The government advice does acknowledge certain exceptional circumstances when this may not be possible if there is a “risk to life” for a child.

Mr Cummings said he did not ask the PM about this decision at the time as "he was ill himself and had huge problems to deal with."

"Arguably this was a mistake...some will say I should have spoken to PM," he said about the Prime Minister, who had been diagnosed with COVID-19 the day before he left London. 

Number 10 Downing Street special advisor Dominic Cummings has become the story of the lockdown in the UK after travelling to the north of the country to visit his parents house. Picture: by DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS / AFP

The news Mr Cummings broke lockdown rules his government had been in charge of promoting sparked fury from the public, media and Mr Johnson’s own Conservative party over the weekend.

On Sunday, Mr Johnson staked his credibility on defending his chief adviser, saying he was convinced his aide had “followed the instincts of every father and every parent. And I do not mark him down for that”.

“I believe that in every respect he has acted responsibly, and legally, and with integrity, and with the overwhelming aim of stopping the spread of the virus and saving lives,” he said.

Several other cabinet ministers have defended Mr Cummings but the attempt at shutting down the debate has only poured fuel on the fire.

Many have questioned why people have missed out on seeing loved ones for months, including not being able to attend funerals, at great personal sacrifice only to learn that those in charge had decided not to follow the same guidelines.

A demonstrator displays a homemade placard that reads "Where was your sacrifice" outside the home of 10 Downing Street special advisor Dominic Cummings. Picture: DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS / AFP.

Boris Johnson said he was convinced his aide followed his instincts as a father. Picture: Andrew PARSONS / 10 Downing Street

Broadcaster Piers Morgan asked what Dominic Cummings “has on” the Prime Minister given Mr Johnson’s loyalty to his powerful aide.

“Boris Johnson is done,” he tweeted recently. “63k people dead on his watch from a virus his reckless complacency & negligence failed to contain.”

“Now he tells the British public their lengthy lockdown effort was all a waste of time, just to save his lying hypocrite aide. From hero to zero in 6 months.”

“How much has Cummings got on you @BorisJohnson?”

“What does this lying hypocrite know that means you’re prepared to risk the public’s health, and lives, to stop him blabbing? Genuinely curious.”

Amid all the health-related rumours swirling around re Cummings’ son, which may or may not be true, it’s worth repeating once again that people missed their children’s deaths & funerals to obey the rules Cummings helped create & then ignored. 👇 pic.twitter.com/YklrtmfRdh

— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) May 25, 2020

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said Boris Johnson had “treated the British people with contempt” while other politicians also expressed disdain for the move. 

The Prime Minister has treated the British people with contempt.

One rule for Dominic Cummings, another for everybody else. pic.twitter.com/XIFCztZnbu

— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) May 24, 2020

Boris Johnson wrote to every household in country at taxpayer’s expense instructing:

“We are giving one simple instruction - you must stay at home. You should not meet friends or relatives who do not live in your home.”

So one rule for his elite friends, another for rest of us. pic.twitter.com/0mvBxRmRUZ

— Jonathan Ashworth (@JonAshworth) May 24, 2020

I know it is tough to lose a trusted adviser at the height of crisis, but when it’s a choice of that or integrity of vital public health advice, the latter must come first. That’s the judgment I and, to her credit, Catherine Calderwood reached. PM and Cummings should do likewise.

— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) May 24, 2020

The move has sparked fears others will ignore social distancing rules, like these beachgoers in Southend-on-Sea. Picture: Ben STANSALL / AFP.

Another "unauthorised" tweet from a UK Civil Service account is under investigation after it branded the move "arrogant and offensive".

Professor Stephen Reicher, a member of the UK government’s key advisory group on behavioural science, said the move means the public will now feel they can pick and choose which rules to follow, putting everyone at risk.

“If you look at the research it shows the reason why people observed lockdown was not for themselves, it wasn’t because they were personally at risk, they did it for the community, they did it because of a sense of ‘we’re all in this together’.”

“If you give the impression there’s one rule for them and one rule for us you fatally undermine that sense of ‘we’re all in this together’ and you undermine adherence to the forms of behaviour which have got us through this crisis.”

“The real issue here is that because of these actions, because of undermining trust in the Government, because of undermining adherence to the rules that we all need to follow, people are going to die. More people are going to die.”

Mr Cummings is a controversial figure in government and played a key role in orchestrating the Leave vote win in the Brexit referendum and in 2016 and helping to secure Mr Johnson’s election victory with the slogan “get Brexit done” in 2019.

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