Watch: Islington neighbours heckle Dominic Cummings on way home
Dominic Cummings was accused of being a “hypocrite” by neighbours as he returned to his Islington home just hours after being backed by Boris Johnson.
Footage posted on social media last night shows Cummings being heckled after being accused of breaching lockdown rules when he travelled 260 miles to his parents’ home.
Neighbours shouted “shame”, “resign” and “hypocrite” but Cummings did not respond as he entered his home.
One woman could be heard shouting: “I’m a single parent. I’ve had no childcare since the beginning of this whole mess, not that I can afford to pay any child care.”
It came after the Prime Minister doubled down on his support for his adviser. Speaking at last night’s briefing, Johnson said Cummings acted “legally and reasonably” when he drove to Durham.
A joint investigation by the Mirror and the Guardian revealed on Friday that the PM’s adviser, his wife and young son had travelled to his parents house in late March. He and his wife both had coronavirus symptoms and self-isolated for the recommended 14 days in Durham.
However it emerged on Saturday in a joint report by the Sunday Mirror and the Observer that Cummings was spotted on two other occasions in Durham in April.
Downing Street said he acted within the rules as the pair travelled to ensure their son had childcare. In Sunday’s briefing, the PM said Cummings had “followed the instincts of every father” and said the second story was “palpably untrue”.
Johnson has faced criticism for his handling of the crisis, not just from Tory backbenchers but also from Church of England bishops and scientists advising ministers on the Covid-19 crisis.
Speaking to the BBC this morning, Conservative backbencher David Warburton said Cummings was “damaging the government and the country that he’s supposed to be serving”.
Stephen Reicher, a professor of social psychology who has advised the government on behavioural science through the pandemic, said Johnson had “trashed all the advice we have given”.
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