Boris Johnson will lead daily press conference amidst Dominic Cummings saga
Boris Johnson will lead today’s daily press briefing at 5pm as calls continue to grow for his chief adviser Dominic Cummings to resign.
Johnson has so far stuck by Cummings despite mounting pressure from a group of Tory backbenchers for allegedly travelling from London to Durham twice during the coronavirus lockdown.
A joint investigation by the Mirror and the Guardian revealed on Friday that the Cummings, his wife and young son had travelled in late March to Durham to stay at the aide’s parents’ house.
He and his wife had a case of coronavirus and self-isolated for 14 days while in Durham.
Number 10 said he acted “reasonably and legally” as the pair travelled to ensure their son had childcare.
However, it emerged last night in a joint report from the Sunday Mirror and Observer that Cummings was spotted on two other occasions in Durham in April, including once after he’d already been spotted in London on 14 April.
One person said they saw Cummings in a Durham woodland on 19 April, meaning that he would have travelled from London to Durham twice during lockdown.
However, Downing Street flatly denied the story and said it was not true.
A group of Tory backbenchers have now called for Cummings’ resignation since the news of the second and third sightings.
Tory MP and former Brexit minister Steve Baker told Sky News this morning that the former Vote Leave mastermind had to go.
“If he doesn’t resign, we’ll just keep burning through Boris’ political capital at a rate we can ill afford in the midst of this crisis,” he said.
“It’s very clear that Dominic travelled when everybody else understood Dominic’s slogans to mean stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives.
“I think mums and dads who very much care about their children and have been forgoing the childcare for extended family will wonder why he’s been allowed to do this.
“I really don’t see as we approach the Prime Minister at the liaison committee on Wednesday how this is going to go away unless Dominic goes.”
Transport secretary Grant Shapps defended Cummings this morning and said he would not be resigning.
He also said it was not true that Cummings had made multiple trips to Durham.
“I think there are more stories today, I was seeing about has he travelled backwards and forwards, accusations that he then went back up to Durham again further times and I understand completely untrue,” he said.
“When he came back to London, which was on 14 April, he has remained in London since and hasn’t been back to Durham so there are lots of things being said here which are completely untrue.”