Minister resigns over Dominic Cummings’ alleged lockdown breaches
Dominic Cummings’ alleged lockdown breaches have provoked a resignation from government by a junior minister amid continued anger at Boris Johnson’s chief adviser.
Douglas Ross, the under secretary of state for Scotland, said on Tuesday that he was quitting after hearing Cummings’ efforts to defend his trip from London to Durham.
Ross said he could not “in good faith” tell his constituents who could not care for sick relatives or say goodbye to dying ones while obeying lockdown rules that Cummings acted appropriately.
I haven’t commented publicly on the situation with Dominic Cummings as I have waited to hear the full details. I welcome the statement to clarify matters, but there remains aspects of the explanation which I have trouble with. As a result I have resigned as a government Minister. pic.twitter.com/6yXLyMzItJ
— Douglas Ross MP (@Douglas4Moray) May 26, 2020
Read on...
The first resignation over the allegations rocking the government came as Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove sought to defend his longstanding ally.
Ross said that “while the intentions may have been well-meaning”, Cummings’ interpretation of the rules was “not shared by the vast majority of people”.
“I have constituents who didn’t get to say goodbye to loved ones; families who could not mourn together; people who didn’t visit sick relatives because they followed the guidance of the government,” the Tory MP for Moray wrote.
“I cannot in good faith tell them they were all wrong and one senior adviser to the government was right.”
We know everyone is suffering under the Tories - but the Canary is a vital weapon in our fight back, and we need your support
The Canary Workers’ Co-op knows life is hard. The Tories are waging a class war against us we’re all having to fight. But like trade unions and community organising, truly independent working-class media is a vital weapon in our armoury.
The Canary doesn’t have the budget of the corporate media. In fact, our income is over 1,000 times less than the Guardian’s. What we do have is a radical agenda that disrupts power and amplifies marginalised communities. But we can only do this with our readers’ support.
So please, help us continue to spread messages of resistance and hope. Even the smallest donation would mean the world to us.
-
Show Comments
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to leave a comment.Join the conversationPlease read our comment moderation policy here.
Cummings is shameless. He drove to Barnard Castle to test his eyes sight. Well, well, well. The way to ensure your eyes are in good order is to take the roads and put other people’s lives at risk. Who can believe this the-dog-ate-my-homework excuse? He went to Barnard Castle for a trip out. Nor did he go to Durham because he couldn’t find child care in London. The man is well-connected and rich. He could have found a thousand people to look after his child. What has everybody else had to do?
Let’s suppose Jeremy Corbyn had made a two-hundred mile trip to visit a sick relative during lockdown. Do you think the BBC would be saying: “Well, he was just doing the best for his family.” Do you think Johnson would be saying the public can appreciate the difficulties of his situation.
I had to go to the dictionary this morning just to make sure the word “hypocrisy” is still there. This is the elite doing what it likes. Nothing else. Cummings is despicable and his boss is a moron.