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So yesterday was hands down the best briefing yet. Shapps clueless, the lady next to him offering him absolutely zero help, everyone basically talking about Cummings without saying his name. He needs to go but wont Boris hasnt got the guts or power to sack him. Tories will just boy everyone off they do what they want. AKA, what happens when you have a bunch of over privileged white men running the show.
So it now looks like he may have travelled 3 times to Durham, and on the first occasion was seen in nearby Barnard Castle, which if either he and/or his wife had been sufferering from COVID-19 symptoms would mean he and his family should have been in quarantine.
This for me is the bit that seems buried. He had already tested positive IIRC, so knowingly carried the disease and would know there was a decent chance of people dying if he didn't stay put. That's what makes it indefensible, and far worse judgement than the other 2 resignations. He was scared his wife might get ill? Still plenty of other options available. Should have chosen one which didn't involve spreading the disease.
Caroline Johnson MP has just dug herself a hole on the BBC. Are they really incapable of being properly briefed before going on air?
12th April in Barnard Castle to celebrate wife's birthday.
Should have chosen one which didn’t involve spreading the disease.
https://twitter.com/10downingstreet/status/1250445200947916801?s=21
So yesterday was hands down the best briefing yet.
https://twitter.com/mralistairgreen/status/1264253346606714881?s=21
what has Johnson actually said on any of this so far,anything?
Something along the lines of “at least he wasn’t having an affair”, or some such attempt at headline diverting vacuous sickening amoral hypocritical insult to the British People.
Caroline Johnson MP has just dug herself a hole on the BBC. Are they really incapable of being properly briefed before going on air?
How can you be properly briefed when you are trying to defend a pack of still-evolving lies?
It is this personal humiliation that many of them are having to prostitute themselves to that will cause the pressure to build from within. Every Tory has sold their soul to a certain extent, but being put up knowing your are going to made a fool of will tip some of them over the edge.
Others, like Gove, are totally shameless.
Something along the lines of “at least he wasn’t having an affair”
Here you go…
Check the dates of his wife’s birthday. 12/04/1975.
He went on a family holiday to Durham from London with an outing to Castle Bernhard.
Staying with elderly rellies.
While the country was under lockdown.
Nothing ambiguous about it.
And now with the Attorney General defending him “right thing to do looking after your family” everyone now can simply take their police issued fine and say here’s my AG approved line of defence, stuff your fine.
Cummings has undermined any authority Johnson’s government had.
Whether it's the party itself, or the right wing commentators this is a fantastic watch.
He must have some absolute stink on the party leadership that they are all (bar a few honourable exceptions) still prepared to be wheeled out to face the guns knowing it's all for lies and to protect a bloke that would burn them as soon as look at them.
As for the press / public still defending. I think it's because we have a culture that no longer seems able to say sorry. Sorry, I was fooled, I was misled, I was just wrong. Sorry, I've realised I made a mistake and I want to change my mind. Sorry, in my heart of hearts I knew Cummings was toxic but to admit it would be to show I am not infallible. So they double down and double down again.
It's created a culture now with the scientists where to say 'we don't know, this is what we think but as more comes to light we'll keep refining our understanding' is seen as weakness.We should have made a plan and just stick to even it even though it's clear it's now wrong because to do otherwise is to admit fallibility. And it's utterly ****ing stupid.
https://i.postimg.cc/nr5kJhtk/9488aad28774c31b9910bcf83a55839d.jp g" alt="null" />
https://i.postimg.cc/nr5kJhtk/9488aad28774c31b9910bcf83a55839d.jp g" alt="null" />brexiteer mps are predictably now calling for his head. Expect a trickle to become a deluge
Handily, this allows confused gammons who were unsure where to direct their anger to now follow Baker and Bone and demand reparations
https://i.postimg.cc/nr5kJhtk/9488aad28774c31b9910bcf83a55839d.jp g" alt="null" />
https://i.postimg.cc/nr5kJhtk/9488aad28774c31b9910bcf83a55839d.jp g" alt="null" />
Bloody hell even my tory MP has just come out and said he should go, and he usually does exactly. what he's told.
https://twitter.com/CWhittaker_MP/status/1264488966381809664?s=20
Holy crap. Craig Whittaker, Calderdale MP and yes man extraordinaire just tweeted against Cummings.
Edit: Daz got there first. But it's such extraordinary news it bears repeating. Probably the first decent thing Whittaker has ever done.
Are the chances of catching Covid19 greater if you sit in a small confined space with 2 other people who have the virus? If you you’re only in that small shared space for just 4.5hrs does it make the risk manageable. If I’m almost 2metres away behind them will I be fine.
Would it be fine with all the windows down? Perhaps a clingfilm screen dividing the space? Could l be put in the trailer with the holiday gear?
Small child with my own best interests.
Just watch the G Shapps briefing again from yesterday.
Repeatedly defended Dom C by saying he went to the house with his family for the safety of the small child. They then stayed in the house while the neice brought them food. This was not a breach.
Okay - lets accept that the 250 mile journey was necessary in case the 4 year old child (did I mention the child? ) needed help if the other parent got ill. Clearly everyone in London would rather see Dom and his family die rather than deliver food or assistance.
So he definitely didn't break the guidence as he travelled to the house and stayed there.
Glad that is clear. I will love to hear the explanation for the essential trip to tourist destination and how that ties in with self isolation rules when you or your partner are displaying symptoms
Have any cabinet MPs actually come out against him yet?
I'm sure a few are keeping quiet for the time being.
I politely forwarded my opinion to my own MP yesterday who happens to be the business secretary, Alok Sharma.
But he's already jumped in with the childcare/no breach of guidance/Labour & media should stop political point scoring defence...
I honestly think the ones that jumped straight into defending Cummings (while we're clearly being drip-fed the story over the course of the bank holiday) should be more closely examined themselves.
Why do they feel so compelled to prevent the end of the "Dom-Cum boom" what's he got on them?
Is his mums birthday in april too?
https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/officers/0FzzyO7Qou37JTo89Pr9D8Ros-g/appointments
Morag Mcdonald CUMMINGS
Filter appointments
Filter appointmentsCurrent appointments
Total number of appointments 2
Date of birth
April 1949
That explains the ABBA.
to protect a bloke that would burn them as soon as look at them.
The font/kerning on this site never fails to amuse.
I will love to hear the explanation for the essential trip to tourist destination and how that ties in with self isolation rules when you or your partner are displaying symptoms
He could try the Mark Steel Defence - it's not a real place
Mark Steel's in Town - Barnard Castle
There’s a change.org petition if anyone is interested...
Dominic Cummings petition link on Change.org
We are watching a sick version of In the Thick of It. I almost (stress almost) felt sorry for Grant Shapps. He was told to defend the clearly indefensible. He must have been wishing it was another minsters shift this weekend.
ratherbeintobago - I missed caroline johnson's appearance on BBC; she's my local MP and is utterly useless so your comment is no surprise.
She is often on 5live prior to PMQs on the Emma Barnett show 11 - 11.30; I can only assume the BBC persist with her for comedy value.
Good to see a few tory MPs - hopefully, many more to come - going public with criticism of cummings and johnson.
For those who have a tory MP it's time to email our *representatives*, being polite, to ask very pointed questions about cummings being in clear breach of regs, why the gov are unable to see the hypocrisy, to point out that this has blown apart any remaining vestiges of lockdown, why should cummings retain his position.
Thats what I'll be doing later today.
As for johnson, I'm not surprised he's hiding; this isn't the prime ministership he envisaged - pandemic, tens of '000s of deaths, gross unpreparedness, confused messaging, criticised by RW supporters, flamed daily by Piers Morgan of all people, economic destruction.
Add to that cummings behaviour.
This gives me a sense of grim satisfaction - no joy or happiness because of the human and economic impacts.
I actually had some sympathy for Bozzer when he was ill.
More fool me.
@dazh - Wow! If Craig Shittaker is calling for him to go then the Tories are in total disarray. He's truly awful, a dyed in the wool Tory. Hates women, foreigners, poor people, disabled etc. etc.
That petition is a bit meh, but the comments are class...."he's our version of Rasputin"
😆
Hopefully more backbenchers will defy the unofficial whip and denounce the Dom now they have overwhelming public support to insulate them, particularly the 2019 red wall cohort.
I'm expecting my glorious and hard working MP Nigel Evans to follow suit just as soon as he's covered his back and can see the way the wind is blowing, you can't expect the spineless sycophant to actually stick his neck out until he receives his 1922 committee orders.
Presumably the Tory MPs who have denounced this morning didnt have the additional obstacle of having knee jerk tweeted their support yesterday or Friday? Although U Turns are a Tory stock in trade
Something about all this feels ‘off’. DC is supposedly meant to be intelligent, a great strategist (and I can well believe however that his arrogance is greater, but -) the government clearly does not want us to be in lockdown and appears to be getting increasingly impatient to open everything back up, but is meeting resistance from experts, the media, the unions and the public. Could this have been orchestrated to get people defying the lockdown in such great numbers the government can argue for a ‘return to normal’? Who if they had wanted to, wouldn’t have been able to go to Durham, hide away and not be seen? To be seen by several witnesses, including at a tourist attraction, is bizarre.
I don’t believe that’s likely, but he must have known he would be seen and recognised; and therefore the huge issue it would become. I guess it’s difficult for me who’s ultra cautious and pretty paranoid in general, to contemplate being so arrogant and brazen.
Ps if he goes I shall miss having someone in power with a similar attitude to formal attire, but whom I feel even I dress better than.
Hopefully more backbenchers will defy the unofficial whip and denounce the Dom…
https://twitter.com/carolinenokes/status/1264487598552121344?s=21
@cookeaa and anyone else that have received that reply please re email your MP and point out it is not an acceptable response and point them to the governments advice on the matter, As long as they think they are getting away with it they will keep taking the P155,
@gauss1777 He might well be clever (though I don’t think he’s as clever as he thinks he is) but he’s also stunningly arrogant but all accounts.
Clearly not clever enough to avoid pissing in the faces of 60,000 odd families who couldn’t be with their loved ones as they died
Cummings reported to be at no 10.
Clearing his desk and taking evidence away?
He might well be clever (though I don’t think he’s as clever as he thinks he is) but he’s also stunningly arrogant but all accounts.
This. Believes himself to be above scrutiny. Wax found in contempt of Parliament for refusing to appear in front of a Select Committee (cos y'know, no mere Minister should be questioning the Dom). Orchestrated the illegal Vote Leave campaign, again with no fallout or consequences. Completely brazen. He's a thoroughly horrible little shit and also a clear warning of what happens when power is left unchallenged.
This is just pure contempt now - contempt for the rules, the public, his boss, the party... The Government aren't even pretending to care about the country or the people anymore. It is literally just a case of how they can stay half a step ahead of the law while absolutely ransacking the place for everything its worth, making as much money as possible and **** the consequences.
A quick reminder that this isn’t about two “campaigning newspapers”, much of the press are now stating the obvious…
https://twitter.com/pcollinstimes/status/1264228038570586114?s=21
The big difference between Brexit & CV, is everyone is affected by lockdown , it isn’t tribal. There are plenty of Tory voters who have been affected/made sacrifices/lost loved ones.
Cummings reported to be at no 10.
Clearing his desk and taking evidence away?
There's a Tory councillor in Lancashire who's been under investigation for a while now about various fraudulent dealings:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-45284595
Not long after he was arrested and released on bail, quite astonishingly and coincidentally, 6 computers belonging to/used by him were all completely and professionally wiped. Incredible coincidence.
Almost like arriving in Durham and finding it's your mother's retirement party, what are the chances?!
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My husband did rush home to look after me. He’s an extremely kind man, whatever people assume to the contrary. But 24 hours later, he said ‘I feel weird’ and collapsed. I felt breathless, sometimes achy, but Dom couldn’t get out of bed. Day in, day out for ten days he lay doggo with a high fever and spasms that made the muscles lump and twitch in his legs. He could breathe, but only in a limited, shallow way.
Mmmm doesn’t sound like he should have been driving 260 miles in that condition
If he ain't gone by the end of tomorrow we have our answer as to how firmly on the pocket of 'other actors' this lot really are.
Watching the Grant Shapps interview with Sohpy Ridge 🤦♂️
Even with the questions in advance, it’s not gone well.
Shapps is an embarrassment, but in his favour, he doesn't seem totally comfortable with the rubbish he's rather inarticulately coming out with.
Shapps was very careful with his wording about which bits of Cummings story he could actually corroborate
I bet they're all paranoid AF someone is going to produce a picture of Cummings in Durham, so treading v carefully
Good opportunity for BJ to have a Corona related relapse and resign at the same time. I live in hope.
My local tory MP, Mark Jenkinson (ex-UKIP), has been strangely quiet - he is normally retweeting all manner of bile. Highlights this week have been lots of anti-teacher sentiment and 'we'll all in this together' bilge.
I'm positive he must be composing some particularly cutting remarks about Dom's behaviour...
If he ain’t gone by the end of tomorrow we have our answer as to how firmly on the pocket of ‘other actors’ this lot really are.
This.
@cookeaa and anyone else that have received that reply please re email your MP and point out it is not an acceptable response and point them to the governments advice on the matter, As long as they think they are getting away with it they will keep taking the P155,
In fairness to Alok, I specifically said I didn't want a reply and that I was simply registering my opinion as a constituent.
Truthfully I had expected him to be a cheerleader for Dom and tow the line, and he did.
The point is simply to let your representatives know public opinion and then sit back and let them behave as expected, all of the comms they received contradicting their actions are now held for the record, and could possibly be the subject of an FOI request in the run up to them defending a seat perhaps?
But there's no point getting all caught up trying to persuade them to behave like humans now...
I bet they’re all paranoid AF someone is going to produce a picture of Cummings in Durham, so treading v carefully
My fingers are firmly crossed that the Graun have this in reserve. Give the bastard one more chance to hang himself.
I'll just leave this for anyone who hasn't seen it yet..... Sky this morning with Sophie Ridge.
https://news.sky.com/video/shapps-strugggles-to-answer-cummings-details-11993756
My MP Eleanor Laing is very quiet on the subject, but I don't expect anything from her. Have emailed her for a response. I'll post up what ever I get.
Nothing from my mp. He'll be waiting to see which way will fall best for his career. Surprising as he's a party line all the way.
Wow, the knife is truly being stuck in, and rightly so. Surely, he has to go, this is the tipping point of national outrage.
And with ref to the video that DazH posted, I think I'm falling for labour - done, dusted, factual - about as opposite as the current government as you could get.
Copied from Guardian live feed. For a Tory MP to backtrack and expressly apologise is pretty seismic. He's been absolutely flooded with angry constituents rather than a Scrooge like nightmare
Although rats and sinking ships comes to mind.
Conservative MP Robert Halfon has apologised for tweeting his support of Dominic Cummings on Saturday and said the PM’s aide should “face the consequences of breaking the law”.
In a statement on his Facebook page, the MP for Harlow said:
I would first like to make it clear to residents that I regret writing the tweet yesterday in the way I did about the Number 10 political adviser and his movements.
I am really sorry for it. I do not support or condone anyone who has broken the law or regulations. Anyone who has done so should face the consequences.
Here is the tweet which Halfon is apologising for:
Robert Halfon MP -Working Hard for Harlow-
(@halfon4harlowMP)
Ill couple drive 260+ miles to ensure that their small child can be looked after properly. In some quarters this is regarded as crime of the century. Is this really the kind of country we are?
May 23, 2020
His statement on Sunday added:
The tweet was wrong because many thousands of people in Harlow and across the country have suffered and struggled enormously during the coronavirus.
It has caused significant pain and hardship. My tweet did not recognise that. I am sorry.
My original tweet was aimed at the four-year-old child because I thought at the time that both parents had been ill with coronavirus, genuinely had no one to look after the infant - and for this reason had taken the child to their extended family to be looked after.
I thought that to do this was within the regulations.
Still waiting on Kuenssberg to jump ship. She's been very quiet today. Hell of a time to take a day off.
He’s been absolutely flooded with angry constituents rather than a Scrooge like nightmare
They've monumentally misjudged the outrage felt by the public who've had to make hugely painful sacrifices during the lockdown. I'm even beginning to think this could bring down Johnson. People were willing to give him the benefit of the doubt despite the clear incompetence and hubris resulting in tens of thousands of avoidable deaths, and this destroys that. If there's one thing the public despises it's being taken for idiots, and they couldn't have designed a better way to do that than what's currently happening.
In terms of what Boris is doing right now at no 10 , I'm imagining it's like Alan partridge after he accidentally shoots Forbes McAllister dead "awww god, what happens now what happens now!"
For someone who did such a good job of dividing the country previously, he’s doing a bloody good job of uniting it again.
Why couldn’t his parents/sister/other residents of Durham come to London to pick up the kid?
Still waiting on Kuenssberg to jump ship. She’s been very quiet today. Hell of a time to take a day off.
she's busy on a conference call with blojo and dom on the best way forward.
In terms of what Boris is doing right now at no 10
Deleting everything I’d imagine.
And panicking, a lot.
also how will the spectator deal with his wife's puff piece lying bullshit article. Could be both out of a job come monday.
I'm wondering if Halfon's retreat is the start of Cummings being removed. I wonder if they've been told or hinted that they need to look after themselves and the party and ignore the prior whip.
he has his own menu @ the Washingtion Post next to aggressive rats 😀 , the boy done good!
A surprising number of people are offended by the video in bruneep's post above.
I think it is amazing.
It's the supportive tweets from the cabinet that have really got my dander up, much more than anythin else, particularly Hancock, braverman and Gove
I hope their responses are not quickly forgotten
Just emailed my MP (Tory) and asked for a response on this issue.
I'm guessing no response is the likely outcome or he waits to see if Dodgy Dom jumps ship then he can claim he never liked the guy!
A surprising number of people are offended by the video in bruneep’s post above.
How dare they harass someone by playing their own advice to them!
He has a 4 year old son. The boy shouldn't have to witness that sort of goings-on outside his own house, regardless of who his father is.
He has a 4 year old son. The boy shouldn’t have to witness that sort of goings-on outside his own house, regardless of who his father is.
Could they not leave him with his grandparents?
My MP is Robert (essential journey to parents and holiday home) Jenrick, so I don't think I'd receive an impartial response to an email.
if they're anything like mine he'll just be able to put Minecraft on and he'll be gone to the world.
Did the boy witness anything today?
What do you want the media to do?
Will cummings and his wife - or others - attempt to 'weaponise' this by dragging the child into it?
It wouldn't have happened if his parents had not acted as though they were above the law; as for the father specifically, his attitude is clearly...do as I say, not as I do.
The boy also shouldn’t be used as a human shield by his father to deflect from his escape to the country antics. Every time DC appears carrying a “look, I’m a father with a young child” prop when going to and from work he’s doing just that. He has dragged his child into this with his gangster “breaking the rules to be a good father” spin defence, and no one else.
My wife is a twitterist. Apparently Using correct spellings Dominic Cummingsbis not trending on twitter, only misspellings. His mates and their bots hard at work!!
He has a 4 year old son. The boy shouldn’t have to witness that sort of goings-on outside his own house, regardless of who his father is.
Early lesson in real life - sorry your father's a ****. He'll have come to realise it soon enough anyway.
. I almost (stress almost) felt sorry for Grant Shapps. He was told to defend the clearly indefensible. He must have been wishing it was another minsters shift this weekend.
I'm with this - Shapps clearly wanted to be anywhere else, answering any other questions in yesterday's briefings, on the point of saying "**** it, I can't keep this shit up". I haven't seen this morning's efforts.
If Cummings goes, Boris is on thin ice, after the lies No10 and the party put out to support him. My Brexit loving parents have little time for Boris other than "get Brexit done", they'd happily sink his ship as well.
https://mobile.twitter.com/colken16/status/1264524430140559360/blockquote >