Senior Tory politician William Wragg brands ministers' defence of Dominic Cummings 'humiliating and degrading'

MP for Hazel Grove says the Government 'cannot throw away valuable public and political good will any longer'
Mr Cummings' explanation of his journey to Durham and subsequent return to London has done little to quell the furore over his actions
AFP via Getty Images
David Child26 May 2020
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Senior Conservative Party politician William Wragg has said it is “humiliating and degrading” to see ministers put out agreed lines in defence of Dominic Cummings.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson's chief aide has come under intense scrutiny in recent days after it was revealed he travelled from his home in London to his family's farm in Durham during the coronavirus lockdown.

Mr Cummings' laid out what happened during his trip north in March during a hastily-arranged press conference at the Downing Street rose garden on Monday.

He said he had he made the journey to the area to be near relatives because he was worried he and his wife may not be able to look after their child if they both fell ill with coronavirus.

But his explanation has done little to quell the furore over his actions , which included taking a “short drive” with his wife and child to Barnard Castle, a town about 25 miles away, to allegedly check whether he was fit to drive before making a return journey to London.

Commenting on the situation on Tuesday, Mr Wragg, the MP for Hazel Grove and chairman of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee in the Commons, said the Government "cannot throw away valuable public and political good will any longer".

“It’s humiliating and degrading to their office to see ministers put out agreed lines in defence of an adviser," he added in a post on Twitter.

“This is a time of national emergency and our focus must be unrelenting. We owe it to the nation.”

Veteran Tory Sir Roger Gale meanwhile said the Conservative backbench 1922 Committee should make it clear to the Prime Minister that Mr Cummings should go amid widespread calls from across the political spectrum for him to resign, or be sacked.

“The time I think has come for Mr Cummings to resign or for the PM to dispense of his services,” Sir Roger said.

The North Thanet MP added: “There are people on the 1922 executive who are courageous, and that’s their job.

“They are elected to tell the PM what he needs to hear, not what he wants to hear.”

The pair's comments came shortly after Douglas Ross, a minister in the Scotland Office, resigned from the Government over the controversy.

However, several ministers on Monday rallied to Mr Cummings' defence following his press conference, including Health Secretary Matt Hancock, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and Chancellor Rishi Sunak.

Mr Sunak said the Prime Minister's aide had "made clear he was motivated by trying to protect his son and he took steps to be safe".

"I understand people had serious questions about his actions - indeed many of you have made huge sacrifices - but I do believe today he explained himself," he added in a post on Twitter.

Mr Raab meanwhile said in a Tweet that Mr Cummings had provided a "detailed account of his actions and how he followed the rules applicable to his family".

Mr Hancock also said Mr Johnson's adviser had been "right" to "set out in full detail how he made his decisions in very difficult circumstances".

"Now we must move on, fight this dreadful disease and get our country back on her feet," he added in a post on Twitter.

Additional reporting by the Press Association.

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