Borders Tories elect not to condemn Dominic Cummings

Mr Cummings appeared on television last night and admitted other actions which appear to have breached rules set to diminish the spread of the virus, including a 30-mile trip to Barnard Castle with his family to check if his eyesight was ok to drive home to London.

He said he made the trip north to ensure there was enough care for his four-year-old son in case he and his wife became incapacitated.

While Mr Cummings said he had not done anything wrong and his actions were fully supported by Mr Johnson, there are many calls for his resignation.

Borders SNP MSP Christine Grahame said this morning: “People have made huge sacrifices over the months to obey the rules, while Boris Johnson’s most senior adviser was breaking them on multiple occasions – it’s not surprising I’ve had countless constituents write to me, deeply angry about this.

“He should have resigned, but instead he showed no contrition and refused to say sorry for his behaviour which has left millions of people – who have been sticking to the rules – justifiably furious.

“Cummings’ double standards are breath taking. His convoluted excuses to justify his inexcusable behaviour were frankly insulting to the people of this country.

“The prime minister has no option but to sack Mr Cummings. His failure to do so by now is a failure of leadership that could have a catastrophic effect on how coronavirus is contained.

“As Scottish Tory leader Jackson Carlaw said: ‘There cannot be one rule for bosses and another for everyone else’.

“People must have confidence that the Tory government is following its own rules – not protecting advisors who break them.

“Boris Johnson has apparently known about this for weeks, has failed to offer any answers himself and now has no option but to sack Dominic Cummings and answer questions about his own role in the Downing Street cover-up.

“Leading public health experts have warned this failure of leadership is damaging the public health message and putting lives at risk.

“The longer the prime minister allows this farce to continue the more the Tory government will lose credibility and respect. He must sack Mr Cummings without further delay.”

Conservative junior minister Douglas Ross MP has today (Tuesday) resigned over Mr Cumming’s actions, but Borders Tories have not condemned them.

Local Tory MP John Lamont admitted he had received several emails from angry constituents on the matter which he has forwarded to the government, and said he himself “shared a sense of frustration” with them, but did not openly accuse Mr Cummings of any wrongdoing.

He said: “Over the last few days, I have ensured that the views of those many constituents who have contacted me on this matter have been communicated directly to the government.

“I very much share the sense of frustration that has been expressed to me and it is essential the voices of local people are heard at the highest levels.

“For my own part, I have strictly observed the lockdown rules over the last nine weeks from my home in Coldstream, as I know the overwhelming majority of us are.

“That is the way we can make sure we all come through this together.”

However, his Conservative party colleague Rachael Hamilton MSP said it’s time to “move on”.

She told us: “It’s very disappointing that the focus is centred on one individual whilst taking away from the failures of the Scottish Government and the need to get our children safely back to schools and concentrating on efforts to get our economy up and running.

“None of us are immune to the fall-out of this horrendous pandemic and we’ve all made difficult choices. I want to thank constituents for being so compliant.

“We need to move on, but always with a thought about how our actions affect others.”

Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale MP David Mundell said he fully understood the anger and frustration felt about the current situation, but he, too, stopped short of criticising Mr Cummings’ actions, saying it was a “distraction”.

He told us: “At a time when the efforts of the prime minister, all levels of government, and every member of parliament, should be focussed exclusively on dealing with the current crisis, there is simply no time for distractions such as this.

“Mr Cummings set out his side of the story in the news conference on Monday. I think we can all agree that it would have been helpful if he had done this earlier.

“Of course, everyone is entitled to form their own judgement on his explanation, and, whether favourable or otherwise, I have relayed all the views I have received to Mr Cummings, before and after the statement, and to the prime minister, and will continue to do so.”

Mr Mundell added that from his own part he would keep working to support the governments in Scotland and across the UK in tackling the crisis and doing his utmost to help his constituents through what were extraordinarily difficult times.

Labour MSP Colin Smyth said local Conservative politicians failing to call for Mr Cummings resignation shows they believe that he is “above the rules everyone else is following so diligently and that undermines the government’s guidance”.

He added: “It is time local Tory politicians take a stand and condemn the actions of Dominic Cummings.”

Ms Grahame added: “In Scotland, the clear public health advice has not changed.

“The Scottish Government will review the current rules on Thursday and hopefully this will lead to a gradual easing of some restrictions, evidence permitting.

“But for now, we should all continue to stay at home – it really is helping to save lives.”