Police officer says people are using Dominic Cummings' behaviour as excuse to breach lockdown rules

Serving officer in London says two people caught breaking lockdown rules told him 'well if Dominic Cummings can do what he wants then we should be able to too'
Since May 13 police have been able to fine those who breach the coronavirus lockdown £100
PA
David Child26 May 2020

A police officer has said Brits are using the furore surrounding Prime Minister Boris Johnson's chief advisor, Dominic Cummings, as an excuse to breach coronavirus lockdown rules.

The officer, who works in London, told LBC radio on Tuesday he had encountered many people refusing to obey social distancing measures while on patrol recently.

The man, who gave his name as Scott, added that some people had mentioned the behaviour of the Prime Minister's chief adviser when subsequently asked to follow guidelines aimed at curtailing the spread of Covid-19.

Responding to a question from LBC presenter Tom Swarbrick on the topic, the officer said two people had specifically said to him on Tuesday "well if Dominic Cummings can do what he wants then we should be able to too".

A third person making similar remarks cited the Government as an example rather than Mr Cummings, the officer added.

“As a police officer, I don’t know what to respond back to them," Scott said. "We don’t speak for the government, we just enforce the rules."

Commenting further on the controversy swirling around Mr Cummings, the police officer added: "It just makes our job a lot more difficult... in what is already a difficult task policing a wishy-washy lockdown that we have now.

"I don't see how I can go to bed tonight, knowing that I’ve made people pay fines for breaching lockdown when it seems if you’re powerful and wealthy enough you can just do whatever you want."

The admission came after it was revealed Mr Johnson's top aide travelled from his home in London to his family's farm in Durham during the coronavirus lockdown.

Mr Cummings' laid out what happened during his trip north in March during a hastily-arranged press conference at the Downing Street rose garden on Monday.

He said at the press conference that he had made the journey to Durham to be near relatives because he was worried he and his wife may not be able to look after their child if they both fell ill with coronavirus.

Mr Cummings added that before returning to London, he went on a “short drive” with his wife and child to Barnard Castle, a town about 25 miles away.

He said he took the journey because he wanted to check he was safe to drive back to London after his eyesight had been affected by a suspected Covid-19 infection.

But his explanation has done little to quell widespread anger over his actions.

Calls are mounting for him to resign, or be sacked, while public health experts have warned his behaviour could have a devastating impact on public adherence to the lockdown rules.​​

A new YouGov poll released on Tuesday suggested more than two-third of Brits believe Mr Cummings broke the lockdown rules, while some 59 per cent of the 1,160 adults polled nationwide also think he should step down over the controversy.

Several senior ministers - including Health Secretary Matt Hancock, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and Chancellor Rishi Sunak - were quick to back Mr Cummings following Monday's press conference.

But on Tuesday a succession of rank-and-file Conservative Party MPs instead signalled their dismay at him remaining in his position.

Douglas Ross, a junior minister in the Scotland Office, also resigned over the issue.

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