In questions following his statement on 25 May, Dominic Cummings claimed that the reason he did not tell the prime minister of his movements on Friday 27 March was that Boris Johnson was upstairs in Downing Street in bed. However, your timeline (6 April) states that on that day the prime minister reported having mild symptoms and was still leading the government until the following Thursday or Friday. Furthermore, there was a cabinet meeting chaired by Johnson on 30 March, where it would be normal even if Cummings had not been present for a briefing to have taken place between the two. So would Cummings’ absence not have been noted then by the PM, or other cabinet members? Cummings claims that he did not tell the PM until the week following his trip to Durham, when they were both in bed, and that they both don’t remember the conversation. This begs the question of whether the story by Cummings can be squared with the account of Johnson’s activities; and if the PM was not in a state to be able to remember things during this week, why did he post a video on 1 April saying he would soon be back, with his aides announcing that he would be out of isolation on 3 April? Mark Holman-Lisney Tadley, Hampshire • During last Monday afternoon’s Covid-19 briefing, Boris Johnson added his support to Dominic Cummings’ claim that the virus had impacted on his eyesight, necessitating the chief adviser’s infamous 60-mile round trip to Barnard Castle. Brandishing a pair of spectacles from his top pocket, Johnson declared that yes, he too had experienced vision impairment “associated with coronavirus”. I spent far too long last week watching footage of Johnson – glancing down at his notes at PMQs, glancing up at a clock as he emerged from No 10 to clap for carers, and scrutinising the faces on Zoom during his liaison committee appearance on Wednesday. I’ve yet to see any evidence of the aforementioned spectacles being used. Would it be cynical of me to surmise that the spectacles were a convenient prop designed to pull the wool a little further over a nation’s eyes? One thing I can be certain of is that our beleaguered PM is finding the line between fact and fiction increasingly blurred. David Nash Oxford • The NHS website sets out very clear instructions on what to do when you suspect someone in your household may have Covid-19. It says: “Self-isolate if […] you live with someone who has symptoms […] If you’re self-isolating, you and anyone you live with must not leave your home […] do not go to work […] do not go out”. Dominic Cummings said that when his wife fell ill, he immediately left 10 Downing Street, ran to a car and drove home to her. He then returned in the afternoon when his wife was feeling better. It’s clear from his own words that he did something against the rules he helped to write. The rules are valid for everyone. He broke them. Nothing more to say or ask. The Durham trip and his later actions are irrelevant. Vittorio Mischi New Malden, London • Minutes of the Sage meeting on 23 March (Sage minutes reveal how UK advisers reacted to coronavirus crisis, 29 May) express concern that Covid-19 case numbers in London “could exceed NHS capacity within the next 10 days” amid “a worldwide shortage of reagents, platforms and equipment”. Did Dominic Cummings use his privileged access to that information to flee London for Durham with his family on 27 March? While that pervasive suspicion exists, any moral authority that this government has to manage this pandemic, or issue advice or instruction, will wither away. John Murphy Liverpool • A delight for crossword fiends and conspiracy theorists on subliminal messaging: “Stay alert, control the virus, save lives” is an anagram of “Easily survives travel north to castle”. John Deval Bristol