He neither proposed nor thought of resigning. Dominic Cummings, Prime Minister’s special adviser, Boris Johnson, said on Monday May 25 that he had breached the confinement of the coronavirus after three days of political storm.
The mastermind of the 2016 referendum campaign that culminated in Brexit claimed that it had acted in a manner "Legal and reasonable" by traveling 400 km north of London with wife and child at the end of March, despite the confinement which required the British to stay at home.
His explanations, precise chronology in support, did not convince the British press, some of whom continue to call for his resignation, insisting on the absence of regrets expressed during this hour-long press conference held facing journalists gathered in the gardens of Downing Street.
Tomorrow's front page: No regrets no apology #tomorrowspaperstoday https://t.co/WyVw63QUIR https://t.co/EURyVIkd8i
The Daily Mirror and the Daily Mail are the most offensive; the latter, who was with the Guardian the first to reveal the matter, even wondering how Mr. Johnson’s special adviser would survive such a controversy.
Cummings admitted that he had not discussed the trip with the Prime Minister, who had just tested positive for Covid-19, a " fault ", he said, the only one he conceded. "I don't think there is a rule for me and a rule for the people"he said, taking back a formula hammered by the Labor opposition.
Tuesday's @DailyMailUK #MailFrontPages https://t.co/5T9PybXP1F
"Are you going to apologize? "
"So, Dominic Cummings, are you going to apologize?" ", ironically questions the Iindependent. For its part, the Guardian title on the alleged lack of regrets of Mr. Cummings, while the Times points out that certain questions remain unanswered, in particular concerning other alleged displacements during this period of confinement.
Guardian front page, 26 May 2020: ‘I don't regret what I did.’ Cummings refuses to quit https://t.co/uR4UbIZARV
Quickly, when the matter was revealed, Boris Johnson had rushed to the aid of Dominic Cummings, assuring that he had behaved "Responsible, legal and honest manner". But despite his intervention, some 20 Conservative MPs continued to demand the departure of the councilor.
#TomorrowsPapersToday Cummings: I did not break lockdown rule @BBCHelena https://t.co/1W2J5LsJwA
"This is a classic case of" do what I say, not what I do "", said former Conservative Minister Paul Maynard. "It seems completely untenable, his position is untenable", he adds.
"It was a test for the Prime Minister and he failed", Labor opposition leader Keir Starmer reacted, denouncing "An insult to the sacrifices made by the British people".
