Who can travel? Princes and prime ministers?

Who else was going to look after Cummings's children while he and his wife were both ill?

According to Mrs Cummings' touching account in the Spectator she and Dom did the childcare all on their own.

According to Laura Kuensberg last night her 'source' at No 10 (aka Dominic Cummings) told her that they went to Durham so that his parents could look after the child.

According to the spin that is now being put out by various cabinet ministers on twitter, they took the child to Durham so that Dom's sister could look after him.

Take your pick of the stories..

After seeing how badly it took Boris Johnson, perhaps they were afraid it would affect them badly too.

They were in Durham on 31st March, which is when the police spoke to Dom. This was before Johnson got really bad. Johnson wasn't hospitalised until early April. By which time Dom was much better and dancing to Abba with his son in his parents' front garden.

So, no, that one doesn't wash..

And don't you think there were a lot of people who thought (indeed, still think) that covid19 would affect them badly who weren't allowed to drive 250 miles to take refuge from it?

Also, didn't BJ go straight to Chequers, where his fiance was, straight from hospital? What's wrong with that?

He was breaking his own rules, that's what was wrong with that. If Carrie was at No 10 when lockdown started that's where she should have stayed and where Johnson should have been discharged to.

I take it, Baggs, from your unconcern about people ignoring the lockdown rules, that you don't think that lockdown is really worth observing?

Baggs ...'where his wife was' - in Chequers. Quite. She moved around a bit from Flat in No.10 - their official home, to their private flat in London to Chequers all during Lockdown - not a comment as media were all sentimentally engrossed in his illness and the new baby. The point is that thousands of ordinary people had the illness and new babies and they stayed n isolation and sacrificed their freedom voluntarily. It is bad governance to flout the rules. Do you remember how the royal family's gesture during the war to stay in London during the Blitz went down n history? That is what pays off in leadership...leadership.

well said MaizieD my post crossed yours

Good post from you, Rocknrollme

pbs.twimg.com/media/EYsVMCCXsAAX8Dx.jpg

From the guardian.

I was certainly not keen for lockdown to be imposed, maiz, and I still have deep concerns about its effect on society in the long term. That said, I understand why it was imposed and think the justifications reasonable. Its effect on me personally has been relatively little after my abandonment of a visit by train to my grandchildren in mid-March because I was afraid of catching the virus on public transport and passing it on unbeknownst to old people where I work.

It turned out I could have caught the virus from my grandchildren or their parents. They didn't know they had it until the kids showed classic symptoms while apparently being perfectly healthy as usual.

rocknroll, seems there's a lot of rumour flying about, then. One day we might know the truth though I'm not counting on it.

Suppose a family, the extended Cummings family, for example, only travel once to a different house from their usual abode in their own car and, once at the alternative house, they all observe strict lockdown. Supposing all that, just for the sake of argument, since we can't know all the details, what is the actual problem for anyone else?

To be fair Boris went to Chequers on release from hospital which he was entitled to do. He did then go to number 10 when he returned to his place of work which is what everyone can do.

People in glSs houses should throw stones. Are you going to examine everyone’s motives and movements. I think a lot will prove wanting. This is a new thing for the country in a way we have learnt from Some mistakes. No one bothers about the good things, this government have given by far the most money to its people, the prime minister suffered a near death experience and came back to work as soon as he could, I wish he had taken more time off for his health. We have had the Brexit debacle, derailed by a lot of time wasters that cost the country millions now as well as the enormous problems the same lot will Pursue any mistake they imagine, because someone doesn’t agree with your perception of the truth doesn’t make you right Maisie, an empty vessel make the most noise.

The problem is that if everyone travels only once when they actively have the virus, that they are increasing the chances of others catching it.

I didn't make the rules... He did.

Baggs
I think the reason is that we were told to Stay at Home and he was not at home. He was supposedly extremely ill and, together with his sick wife, (was she sick or wasn't she?) travelled 250 miles with a small child. The reason we were not supposed to do that was because we could have had an accident or broken down, involving the hard pressed emergency services and possibly passing on the virus to others.
The child could have been asymptomatic and passed the virus on to her/his aunt and/or grandparents.

I think - although the story seems to be amorphic.

In a nutshell - he broke the rules which he helped to formulate.

Boris, I believe went from hospital straight to Chequeurs which was slightly different. Carrie moved around somewhat.

Thanks, calli. I always seem to forget about the possibility of accidents, which is odd really since I had one (not a road accident) myself in early Feb. It's very odd here looking out at the loch on a fine day and not see sailing dinghies .... then I remember.

One day we might know the truth though I'm not counting on it.

Well, Baggs. How about taking the words of Dom and his wife as being 'true'?

Mrs. C wrote a piece for the Spectator a week or two ago describing the episode of her husband's illness and their isolation experience.

The chronology goes like this:
27th March. Cummings filmed running out of Downing Street. His wife says that he was rushing to her side because she was showing symptoms.
28th/29th March. Mrs C said that Dom went down with C19 24 hours after she had developed symptoms and then took to his bed where he was prostrated for 10 days. Didn't move...
She describes caring for their child while Dom was incapable of action.

But. This prostrated with sickness person managed to be in Durham, 250+ miles away where he was spoken to by the police (who I really don't think would lie to the national press) for breaking the lockdown.

So how did 2 people with C19, one apparently badly affected manage to be isolating in the home in London while being at Dom's parent's place in Durham? That they went to Durham is absolutely true and certain; he told Laura Kuennssberg that he was there and she relayed that info in a tweet last night.

One thing seems clear. Mrs Cummings' version, which you'd expect to be the true on, isn't true...

What is true is that they broke the lockdown rules. In a big way. It wasn't just nipping to his mum's 10 miles away. It was a 5 hour, 250+ mile journey when both drivers were ill, just to increase the risk of accident.

Spoken to by the police on 31st March. (missed that bit out) When he was supposedly in the middle of 10 days prostration...

Ah, but the police visit didn't happen, apparently.

Is Mrs C a fiction writer by any chance?

Where are they registered with a GP and which is their nearest hospital? Surely they would all have to register as visitors with a GP practice in Durham?
They could have overburdened the services up there.
The idea was to Stay Home, Protect the NHS.
Did he write that slogan?

Perhaps his wife wrote it?

She doesn't appear to be that clever, though!
It's quite snappy as long as everyone takes notice, of course

He’s said to reporters this afternoon he doesn’t care what it looks like to them.

He’s digging his hole so deep he’s going to need a ladder to get out of it

I loved the way he told the press off for not keeping to the rules???? oh the hypocrisy of the silly little man.

www.spectator.co.uk/article/getting-coronavirus-does-not-bring-clarity

I've read the 25 April Spectator article by Mary Wakefield (Mrs Cummings), who is commissioning editor of the Spectator.

Para 6 begins with: "My husband did rush home to look after me" which of course does imply that DC rushed home to their London house. There is nothing else in that article but a description of the effects the illness had on Mary and Dominic and what she did with their child when she felt better but Dominic didn't.

Have you seen the statement from Suella Braverman QC? It includes these sentences:
"At no stage was he or his family spoken to by the police about this matter, as is being reported. His actions were in line with coronavirus guidelines."

I note the word guidelines.

Gotta go and deal with some cooking....

I might also add about the danger of spreading the virus, while they were travelling, did they stop for the toilet, did they stop for petrol. All good chances to spread the virus. He should resign.

Not if it’s fake news.