Dominic Cummings slammed for breaking lockdown by scientist, 37, who couldn’t be at his dying dad’s side
DOMINIC Cummings has been slammed for breaking the coronavirus lockdown rules by a scientist who was prevented from being at the side of his dying dad.
Neuroscientist Dean Burnett, 37, said he was “mind-sappingly enraged” over accusations the government’s chief aide had broken the restriction rules to visit his parents in Durham.
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Mr Cummings is said to have driven 264 miles from London to his parents’ home at the end of March.
Two more witnesses later came forward to say Mr Cummings was seen on Easter Sunday in a town 30 miles away from his parents' Durham farm while he was isolating with his family.
The second witness said they sighted Mr Cummings back in Durham on April 19, five days after he had returned to work in Westminster - indicating he made a second 264-mile trip to the North East.
There have been widespread calls for Mr Cummings to resign includes ones from Conservative backbenchers.
Mr Burnett, 37, said: “I wasn’t there for MY FATHER’S DEATH from #Covid19! And haven’t seen any friends or family since. Because of #Lockdown. I could never live with inflicting this pain on others.”
Speaking to , he slammed the actions of Mr Cummings as “vile selfishness” and added: “When my dad Peter contracted Covid-19, I couldn’t see him. When he went to hospital, I couldn’t visit him. And when he passed away, I couldn’t be there.”
When my dad Peter contracted Covid-19, I couldn’t see him. When he went to hospital, I couldn’t visit him. And when he passed away, I couldn’t be there
Neuroscientist Dean Burnett
When Mr Cummings was confronted by reporters yesterday he responded “who cares” when asked if his actions looked bad.
He said: “It's a question of doing the right thing. It's not about what you guys think."
A YouGov survey which questioned 3,707 adults found that just 28 per cent thought Mr Cummings should continue in his role, while another 20 per cent remained neutral on the issue.
Bookies Paddy Power are now offering odds of 2/7 that the government aide will stay in his role after Prime Minister Boris Johnson backed him at today’s coronavirus press conference.
The apparent actions of Mr Cummings have been widely condemned by people who were stopped from visiting their families while the country was in lockdown over the coronavirus outbreak.
Radio host and journalist Julia Hartley-Brewer wrote on Friday: “My 77-year-old mum, who lives on her own, had a heart attack in December &, thanks to the coronavirus & lockdown, I hadn't seen her since late January until two days ago.
It's a question of doing the right thing. It's not about what you guys think
Dominic Cummings speaking to reporters
“So excuse me if I am beyond b***** incandescent at what Dominic Cummings did. Absolutely f****** furious.”
Journalist Sathnam Sanghera tweeted: “I spoke to the brother of a doctor who died of Covid who was not, under the rules, even allowed to physically comfort his own grieving mother at the funeral. You degrade and demean yourself.”
Speaking at his third Downing Street press conference since leaving hospital, Mr Johnson insisted he had taken the allegations extremely seriously.
He said: "It is because I take this matter so seriously, and it is so serious, that I can tell you today that I've had extensive face-to-face conversations with Dominic Cummings.
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"I've concluded that in travelling to find the right kind of childcare, at the moment when he and his wife were about to be incapacitated by coronavirus and when he had no alternative, I think he followed the instincts of every father and every parent.
"Though there have been many other allegations about what happened when he was in self-isolation, thereafter, some of the palpably false.
"I believe that in every respect that he has acted responsibly and legally and with integrity and with the overwhelming aim of stopping the spread of the virus and saving lives."
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