Boris Johnson has again refused to apologise for breaches of coronavirus lockdown rules by Dominic Cummings, telling a committee of senior MPs that political bickering was to blame for any confusion over distancing rules, rather than the actions of his chief adviser. In an often fractious appearance before the Commons liaison committee, the prime minister declined to answer most questions about Cummings, saying repeatedly it was time to “move on”. Johnson also claimed that when it came to coverage of Cummings’ 260-mile trip to Durham with his family when he feared he had Covid, and subsequent 60-mile round trip to a local beauty spot, “a lot of the allegations turned out to be totally false”. The prime minister did not say which claims were false. Asked later in the session to explain what was false, Johnson refused, saying: “I have really nothing to add on what I’ve previously said.” Asked by several MPs on the committee, which brings together the chairs of various subject-specific select committees, whether he was sorry for Cummings’ actions and the possible impact they might have on the future compliance of the public with lockdown rules, Johnson ducked the question. Instead, he expressed regret only for the situation caused to many families by lockdown. “Of course, I am sorry for the pain, the anguish and the heartbreak of so many people in this country,” he said.
Johnson refused to be drawn on still-unexplained aspects of Cummings’ travels, referring to his adviser’s highly unusual press conference from the rose garden of Downing Street on Monday. “We’ve had quite a lot of autobiography recently,” Johnson told the committee chair, the Conservative MP Bernard Jenkin. “I’ve commented on it, I think people know my views. I really don’t propose to add to it.” The prime minister faced generally hostile questioning from the cross-party group of MPs. Some came from Simon Hoare, the Tory MP for North Dorset, who told Johnson he feared future lockdown rules would be less rigorously adhered to “as a direct result of the activities of your senior adviser”. Hoare said: “You’re right to say we know what your views are. Frankly, I don’t think anybody understands why you hold those views. So what do we say to our constituents, who are likely to say, you can keep your lockdown if it has to come back. If other people don’t have to abide by it, why on earth should we?” Johnson replied: “I must say, I don’t think that’s true about how the British people will respond to the next phases, to how to work the test-and-trace system.” The most fiery exchanges came with Labour’s Yvette Cooper, who asked the prime minister whether all parents with suspected Covid and worries about childcare if they fell ill could now travel freely. Johnson replied: “If you have exceptional problems with childcare, you can vary your arrangements, that’s clear.” Pressed on this, he said: “I think you’d have to look at each individual case.” Cooper accused Johnson of “putting your political concerns ahead of clear public health messages” to protect Cummings. She said: “We need you to get this right, now. So can you tell us – you have a choice between protecting Dominic Cummings and putting the national interest first. Which will it be, prime minister?”
Johnson responded by intimating it was such questions that were confusing the public, and not Cummings’ actions. “This conversation has, to my mind, illuminated why it’s so important for us to move on and be very clear with the British public about how we want. Frankly, when they hear nothing but politicians squabbling and bickering, it’s no wonder that they feel confused.” The prime minister was openly mocked by Pete Wishart of the Scottish National party, who started his questioning by saying: “I actually think that you’ve been quite brave. The way that you’ve been prepared to sacrifice the credibility and popularity of your own government, just to stand by your man.”
On specific questions, Johnson said he had not asked the cabinet secretary, Sir Mark Sedwill, the country’s most senior civil servant, to investigate whether Cummings had broken any rules. “Quite frankly, I’m not certain right now, that an inquiry into that matter is a very good use of official time,” he told Jenkin. Asked repeatedly by Labour’s Meg Hillier if he had seen evidence from Cummings that backed up his version of events, Johnson eventually said he had, but said he was not going to show this to Sedwill. He said: “It would not be doing my job if I were now to shuffle this problem into the hands of officials.”