mr cummings did not do that.e he was going to get support in a property adjacent to his parents, he didn't then move around, he remained there, in a place where they thought they could bring the best care to their child. the bit of the guidance you didn't read out makes clear, it asks people to make every effort and it acknowledges, keep following the advice to the best of your ability. but we are aware that not all of these measures will be possible, the key thing is not to keep moving around. grant shapps speaking to andrew marr. i will be back with a full bulletin at the top of the hour, but let's get the weather. hello there. it's an improving story this bank holiday weekend in terms of the weather. yesterday, parts of the north west of scotland through the highlands saw nearly 3.5 inches of rain. despite cloudy skies this morning, it's certainly an improving picture and it will slowly brighten up as the afternoon continues. you can start to see the cloud breaking up quite nicely in this weather watcher pictu

dominic cummings has a lwa ys damaging.gs has always been, well, his great strength has been he has reached out beyond the westminster bubble and understand what the country at large was thinking beyond if you like the westminster village. in this case, what is being transmitted, mps right across the spectrum, is this is not across the spectrum, is this is not a bubble issue, it is something that has gone beyond just the westminster lobby and parliamentarians. this is something that has cut through to people that the conservative party has depended on, borisjohnson depended on, to install him in office. now many of them seem to feel that he and dominic cummings are treating them with contempt. thank you for being with us. we expect that news conference at lipm. we will of course bring that as soon as it begins. as we wait for that, let's talk to tom harwood from guido fawkes. tom, you have been defending dominic cummings. is this a wise move for him to talk to the press and put what seems like will be his side of the story?

mr cummings did not do that.here he was going to get support, in the property adjacent to his parents, he didn't then move around. he remained there, in a place where they thought they could bring the best care to their child. and as the bit of guidance that you didn't read out makes clear, it asks people to make every effort. it acknowledges that... it says, keep following the advice to the best of your ability. however, we are aware that not all of these measures will be possible. the key thing is not to keep moving around. the transport minister grant shapps speaking earlier today. with me is tom harwood, he is a senior reporter from the right of centre website guido fawkes. also, i'm joined by sienna rodgers, she's the editor of the labour list website which focuses on news about the labour party. thank you forjoining us. tom, we know what number 10 has been saying about this situation and what certain members of the cabinet have been saying. the fact that members of the backbench are beginning to voice doubt

pm that's all on cummings. that secondary headline, pm that's all on cummings, that is i think something every newspaper would agree with —— bets all on cummings. that's true, he has com pletely cummings. that's true, he has completely intertwined his fate. it was steve baker earlier who was saying that dominic cummings is burning through boris johnson's political capital, which is absolutely true, and borisjohnson seems to be letting him. the reporter in the telegraph talks about how borisjohnson doesn't like confrontation so he seems to have decided not to have a confrontation with dominic cummings and instead to confront the whole country. sometimes governments do that by promoting them to a loftier title or giving them an ambassadorship somewhere, but this is, in some ways, ajohnson somewhere, but this is, in some ways, a johnson cummings administration. yes, absolutely. those people that were familiar with mrcummings those people that were familiar with mr cummings before this story broke new him to be abs

is it one rule foryou, mr cummings? is it one rule foryou, mr cummings and anotherfor cummings? rule foryou, mr cummings and another for everybody else? multiple conservative mps have called for you to go, what do you say to them? why did you go to your -- 260 say to them? why did you go to your —— 260 miles across the country? lots of mps are confused to resign, will you? why do not follow your own rules? why are you not following your own rules? why are you not following your own rules, mr cummings? de have anything to say to people who have been self isolating in this country? anything to say? you have nothing to add? careful. de have anything to say to people self isolating in this country? i think that is a no. lots of questions from reporters, but mrcummings not lots of questions from reporters, but mr cummings not saying anything. one of the questions he was being asked about conservative mps who have called for him to resign. i spoke to conservative mp and former brexit minister steve baker who explained why he thought dominic cummings should go. i think his position is

it is interesting that they have been forced to still focus on cummings and they could not miss cummingsols as well. henry, you have by chance and i didn't plan this, you have the final word on the subject. i think the other point about the school story is the government has slightly lost control of this and it is up to local authorities to offer guidance and some have said they won't open so it is not a grand unveiling and a moment of liberation for pa rents unveiling and a moment of liberation for parents around the country. what happens to their kids depends more on their particular school. henry mance from the financial times and anna isaac from the wall street journal and olivia utley from the sun, thank you very much. they will be back at half past i! for another look at the papers. goodbye for now. hello, this is a bbc sport centre. two people have tested positive for covid—i9 after the latest round of tests in the premier league. the championship has completed its first testing programme with just two cases detected. one of the premier league positives is a bournemouth player, th

this cartoon says i cannot sex dominic cummings until he tells me to. —— sack dominic cummings.rt of dominic cummings that have not aged very well, have they? i mean, this morning when they started to put the tweets out dominic cummings had broken the lockdown rules only once, but tonight we know that he has broken them at least three times. borisjohnson talks broken them at least three times. boris johnson talks about saying he thinks the matter is now closed, but it is hardly closed. i think what you might find is more and more people remembering that they have seen dominic cummings out and about, and this story willjust about carry—on having legs. and this story willjust about carry-on having legs. the other sunday times story is revealed. lockdown to the ring led to worst death toll in europe. while we are talking about a very senior aide to the prime minister of course there's other journalism the prime minister of course there's otherjournalism looking at the missteps and the time wasting that the sunday times says this government indulged in that cost thousands of lives.

, and if mr if mr cummings which is the prime ministerwell, and if mr cummings wishes the government.ependent on dominic cummings? is relationship clouding hisjudgment on dominic cummings? is relationship clouding his judgment and on dominic cummings? is relationship clouding hisjudgment and ultimately calling hisjudgment clouding hisjudgment and ultimately calling his judgment as clouding hisjudgment and ultimately calling hisjudgment as prime minister into question?|j calling hisjudgment as prime minister into question? i don't think so. there is a wide body of advisory people in no 10. when you are prime minister you have access to the finest brains in the country to the finest brains in the country to advise on things. but nobody is indispensable and nobody is ever relied upon that match, whether it is mrcummings or relied upon that match, whether it is mr cummings or someone else. anybody can be replaced and there are plenty of other people who could step in and do the job. ok, simon hoare, thank you very much for your time this morning, conservative mp for north dorset. away fro

quite simply, dominic cummings has to acce pt simply, dominic cummings has to accept that what he hasmings and doing it right now. ok. good to talk to you. thank you so much, ian blackford, the snp leader in westminster. we can speak now to our health correspondent, anna collinson. anna, thinking about this trip that was taken, 260 miles from london to durham, what risks, if any, from london to durham, what risks, ifany, did from london to durham, what risks, if any, did they risk posed in terms of the spread of the virus? it's a really important question. i think we got a real sense of the anger and the need for answers in that briefing. so yes, dominic cummings, as we know now, drove from london to durham at the end of march and at that time, if we go back to that time, government advice was pretty clear about what they wanted people to do, particularly if they had symptoms. they appeal to the public to stay at home if they had symptoms for at least seven days. i've had a look through the guidelines published then. the government did say if you had symptoms you could move so—called

dominic cummings should be fired.nt, and i'm beginning to wonder if there is something else behind this. k said i would do anything needed to protect my child, i'm amazed so many wouldn't. pete says six weeks ago my brother had a heart attack. he is 0k. brother had a heart attack. he is ok. two days ago we heard that my father—in—law has prostate cancer. we have stayed home, both times. we are shielding our 17—year—old who had lymphoma last year. the arrogance of this do as i say, don't do as arrogance of this do as i say, don't doasi arrogance of this do as i say, don't do as i do, government, hurts. let's speak now to sir roger gale — the conservative mp for north thanet. are you satisfied with the explanation from mr cummings? are you satisfied with the explanation from mr cumming57m are you satisfied with the explanation from mr cummings? in the sense that he had a sick wife and a child that he needed to look after, i understand that. we will redial you, because the skype is too annoying. dan hodges is a columnist

i think mr cummings is now...followed the instincts of every father and every parent, and i do not mark him down for that. and though there have been many other allegations about what happened when he was in self—isolation and thereafter — some of them palpably false — i believe that, in every respect, he has acted responsibly and legally and with integrity. let's speak to the conservative mp david warburton now. hejoins us from his home in somerset. good morning. thank you forjoining us. i suspect you like money watched the prime minister at the news conference yesterday. what if you make of it? well, you know, i wasn't terribly impressed with his conclusions. —— what did you make of it? although we all understand dominic cummings' instincts, many of us are parents and we understand his wish to do the best for his family. but we have not been offered the chance to interpret the rules. that's really not how it works, otherwise there would be complete chaos. we have all suffered under the regulations. there are par

dominic cummings returned to london on the 14th of april.say that dominic cummings and his family were hunkered down at an adjacent property to his parents in durham. the bbc has spoken to a member of the public who said he saw mr cummings at barnard castle on april the 12th, before he returned to london. at that time, the government messaging was clear — stay at home. i am content that at all times during his isolation, actually on both sides of that period, he behaved responsibly and correctly. some conservatives, including those who have crossed swords with dominic cummings in the past, are focused on getting him out of number ten. it is because of dominic's slogans around these rules that mums and dads, grannies and grandpas across the country will have felt that they had to stay at home. i think our strong messages about social distancing, stay at home, makes sacrifices and we are all in this together have become dilutive. he set rules that everybody else has to abide by. he has broken the rules and has to go. the prime minister took a

over the yea rs, into dominic cummings over the years, damian collins for example, dominic cummingswhen he was chair of the digital support select committee. a long—running beef if you like there. he has added his voice for him to go. the conservative mps coming out and adding their voices to this add to the pressure the opposition has already started to put in place here. the lib dems, snp, labourall right most civil servant in britain, the most prominent, it is broken special advisers code and also labour are putting quite a significant pressure on to get the prime minister to turn up at this afternoon at a press conference to a nswer afternoon at a press conference to answer questions. nick thomas, who was arrested early on and on andrew marr. we have had people in exactly these situations, tens of thousands of households, who have had to muddle through and try to follow guidance as best they can and this particular situation was even raised ata particular situation was even raised at a downing street press conference with the deputy chief medical officer and she mentioned things

dominic cummings dashing out of number ten in late march. it was confirmed he had developed coronavirus symptoms and was self isolating. now it has emerged that, at around that time, he travelled from his london property to his parents‘ home in durham 250 miles away. there is clearly serious questions that number ten are going to have to address, not least because the readiness of members of the public to follow government guidance, more generally, is going to be affected by this sort of story, but i don't want to rush to condemn without hearing the whole story. it's prompted calls from opposition parties for the prime minister's chief aide to resign or face the sack. the reality is that borisjohnson's most senior adviser blatantly breached the rules that millions of people have been trying so hard to keep. it is the case that his position is totally untenable and he needs to resign or borisjohnson needs to step up and sack him. labour is demanding a swift explanation from downing street. the explanation from a source close to mr cummings is

and there is a claim on the observer dominic cummings was seenin the observer dominic cummings was seengs was seen in a beauty spot about 30 miles from durham when he was apparently self—isolating. iain is here. lots of outstanding questions tonight for mr cummings. labour are pointing to an apparent inconsistency, a downing street statement saying dominic cummings stayed in a property separate from his parents but nearby in the durham area. durham police in a new statement tonight say that he was self—isolating in part of his father's property. they are also calling for the top civil servant in the country to launch an investigation. it would be quite easy to see this as a bit of a westminster bubble story that downing street will be hoping will bear sooner or later with allegations and counter allegations between government officials. the bigger story here is the credibility of the government's and guidance because a cabinet minister today said that guidance could be interpreted so flexibly that it is perfectly acceptable for somebody who is ill with covid symptoms to travel the lengt

by mr cummings, because boris johnson stands has stood by mr cummings, because borisjohnson stands by but i am disappointed, in this instance because i think it is for the country and for the administration, a bad decision. do you believe a line has been drawn under this matter now?” you believe a line has been drawn under this matter now? i fear not. people have said to me, what are you going to do now? the answer is, i shall probably go away and shut up. let me shutting up is not going to be the end of the story, because there is probably more to emerge and so many people have expressed their concern about the manner in which mr cummings, not only behaved in the interests of his son, which is understandable, but in the way that he flouted his own rules. there are thousands of people all over the country who have had childcare problems. a lot of people are going to find it hard to believe given the size of the city of london and the number of people there it was impossible for mr cummings and his wife to make arrangements domestically to have their child looked after if necessary. be

are you going to resign, mr cummings? the uk prime minister, borisjohnson, stands by his chief advisor, rejecting calls for his resignation over allegedly breaking coronavirus lockdown rules. according to mrjohnson, dominic cummings was following instinct in travelling over 250 miles for childcare when his wife showed coronavirus symptoms. i believe that in every respect, he has acted responsibly and legally and with integrity. the uk labour party have responded angrily to the developments. this was a huge test of the prime minister, and he's just failed that test. he hasn't sacked dominic cummings, he hasn't called for an investigation, and he's treating the british public with contempt. israel's prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, appears at the first day of his corruption trial. more than 100 are arrested in hong kong during protests against beijing's new proposed security laws. turkey, which had one of the fastest growing coronavirus outbreaks in the world, says it is turning the tide. hello and welcome if you are wat

cummings would not express had symptoms. cummings would not ex press a ny had symptoms.y regret, will you?” didn't know about any of the arrangements in the past. had a brief position, in which i think he mentioned where he was. i have to tell you, at that particular stage i had a lot on my plate and really didn't focus on the matter. i do regret the confusion, the anger and the pain that people feel. i really did want people to understand exactly what had happened. and that is why we had the statement, and the very extensive questions that we did today. the prime minister is standing by his adviser. famed and feared for believing rules are there to be broken. that has always come for big political danger for to be broken. that has always come for big political dangerfor dominic cummings. now it couldn't be closer to home. at all of those questions and a nswe i’s , at all of those questions and answers, where do you think dominic cummings stands now? it is tricky, it is difficult to know where this will land. it has been a very febrile couple of days for the government.

again, as you suggested earlier, mr cummings is more thanjust suggested earlier, mr cummings is morehe brains behind the success man and the brains behind the success of the vote leave campaign. it was the brains behind mr johnson's election victory. it is often thought that while mrjohnson is the fabulous salesman that it is mrcummings who is the fabulous salesman that it is mr cummings who really does the details and has the big vision and the strives to get policies through. there is a third reason as well. this is kind of important actually, the if you think about mrjohnson's operation to downing street, it is the vote leave campaign revisited which was as we have discussed headed by dominic cummings. that is more thanjust headed by dominic cummings. that is more than just about leaving the european union. it is a radical project for remaking the uk for governing in a different much better that way. so a lot of people say the project was crazy given that britain was to fit the richest country in the world is seen as one of the sa nest the world is seen as one of the sanest in eur

the uk prime minister's top aide — dominic cummings — is at number 10 downing street.ior members of the conservative party are calling for his resignation after further allegations he breached lockdown rules. he insists he acted ‘reasonably and legally‘ by driving from london to county durham in march while his wife had coronavirus. but new reports suggest he was seen in the north east of england on two further occasions. the country cannot afford this nonsense, this pantomime, now. dominic should go and we should move on and deal with the things that matter in people's lives. police in hong kong arrest dozens of people participating in the first pro—democracy protests since beijing announced plans to impose a new security law on the territory. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu goes on trial for corruption charges just days after he was once again sworn in as premier. the duke of cambridge reveals how becoming a father brought back the painful emotions he felt after his mother's death. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world — and sta

these are rules that dominic cummings helped draw up. them. john the other issue is boris johnson says at least he was not visiting a lover, reference to neil ferguson, the scientific adviser who had to set down. but how damaging is this? forget the politics at the minute, but for the governance of this country at a time when everyone is looking to the ministers of state to show us the way through this and what is an international crisis?” think the reason borisjohnson what is an international crisis?” think the reason boris johnson was referring and comparing it to the neil ferguson case was they clearly thought that this was more defendable, his wife was sick, he was worried about his son. i think thatis was worried about his son. i think that is why number ten thought they could defend it and keep all of that because it wasn't like he was doing something illicit. he was in the way of going to see a lover, that he was not in the way of seeing a lover. he was taking care of his child. but because of how people are abiding by the lockdow

we had mrcummings we had mr cummings and his lengthy press c0 nfe re nce we had mr cummings and his lengthy downing street and last night the prime minister all trying to draw a line under this, it does not look as if they have succeeded. in a word now because today we have had calls continuing from conservative mps and others for dominic cummings to go. he held that news conference in the garden of downing street yesterday, a high—risk strategy and he and the prime minister took the view that it would be better for prime minister took the view that it would be betterfor him to prime minister took the view that it would be better for him to explain his actions to allow people to hear what he had to say and make up their minds accordingly. the trouble is since then at least ten or so tory mps in addition to those that already called for him to resign have today come out and said the same. and you can see what is happening here, they're getting a lot of correspondence from voters in their constituencies who clearly are unhappy about what dominic cummings has done and they are needing to do so

cummings and the daily mail for the ear of middle england.who is winning that battle. —— the hatred of hypocrisy. first of all none of that was a situation. dominic cummings did not have the virus may travelled to 60 miles across the country and his uncle died sadly later in the whole situation and one was ill but the child was not ill as he told it's a situation was not exceptional. he was somebody where a small family of three were one was ill and small family of three were one was illand a small family of three were one was ill and a situation that thousands upon thousands of parents have been putting themselves unfortunately in this country and around the world and over the last two months. nothing exceptional about it is all as far as nothing exceptional about it is all as farasi nothing exceptional about it is all as far as i can see. but what is is that dominic cummings was a man who set the rules and the slogans but which we have all been with living for the past two months and that is why even a daily mail which is a huge supporter o

very clearly dominic cummings, it might have been for also the reasons, but dominic cummings did violatere is a very strong sense that in standing by at dominic cummings, what we are being told is there is one rule for the government, and another rule for the rest of the population. my concern is, not so much to do with dominic cummings, i'm not particularly bothered what happens to him, it's what happens to the rest of us. if they undermined the unity, if people lose trust and adherence, if they stop complying with multiple measures which have contained the infection and all of us will lose out because the infection will spike again, and many more people will die. will this make you stop providing advice to the sage committee? i will continue providing the best advice that we possibly can in order to do the things that will help the public put together. one of the things which has been quite inspiring, i think, the things which has been quite inspiring, ithink, throughout the things which has been quite inspiring, i think, throughout this pandemic has been, if you like, the discipline a

a picture of dominic cummings in the downing street rose garden.chard, with the first sentence of the story. "in the crisis over dominic cummings raged unabated last night." but i saw one person from the financial times saying they thank you will pull through, one of theresa may's former adviser said it will be off the broadcast headlines by the end of the week, but the guardian doesn't agree. yeah, no. i'm inclined to say i don't think it does range unabated. i think that at some point, we all have to move on here. he isjust one guy. he has broken the rules. at the end of the day, when the prime minister has takena day, when the prime minister has taken a decision, i would say that, you know, it's up to the prime minister who eat he employs, boris johnson is prepared to take a political hit for this, because he knows, in the end, whatever he decides, if it's worth it to have dominic cummings in that team, he is the central figure in downing street, by far the most powerful adviser you know, he has got the key role in some of in the way the country

dominic cummings broke lockdown twice. outside his house and asked if he would resign, and he said obviously not. he said he did not ca re obviously not. he said he did not care how it looks. what do you make of that response? extraordinarily arrogant. we have had people be fined for their behaviour. some arguably for lesser things. now he is saying that the rules don‘t apply to him and it is extraordinary arrogance. it is interesting that we are seeing conservatives, we were briefing yesterday, i saw damian collins had just tweeted, another tory mp had tweeted, they are all saying dominic cummings should go. lots of people are warning what it really shows, their desperation to protect this man, is that they can‘t survive without him, but boris johnson can‘t see —— can‘t do the job without him, which is struggling. but dominic cummings and his reaction yesterday was appalling. many people have not been to funerals to relatives or visiting the sick relatives, and there he is taking the virus around the country. it seems ext

dominic cummings then returned to work in london on 14 april.t ministers say dominic cummings and his immediate family were hunkered down at a property adjacent to his parents' home in durham. but the mirror and observer newspapers and the bbc have spoken to a member of the public who claims he saw mr cummings in the town of barnard castle, 30 miles away, on easter sunday, when the message was stay at home. he has now formally complained to the police. i am content that, at all times throughout his period in isolation, actually on both sides of that period, he behaved responsibly and correctly. i'm told some government ministers are hugely frustrated that coherent messages on controlling the virus have been made more confusing to keep dominic cummings at number ten. so, do voters in county durham have clear views? i think when someone like him, who's obviously giving advice to the prime minister, doesn't adhere to the rules, it makes it even more confusing for the average person. other people have been in the same situation, and they've managed.

, ahead of the cummings affair.n in places like western, where they are losing some confidence in the government. i think the issues are not dominic cummings, ithink think the issues are not dominic cummings, i think the issues are to do with the fact that the politicians, especially, are frightened to turn around to the public and say, actually, there isn‘t many of you who are faithfully following the lockdown rules, but there is a core of people who are ignoring them and look what has happened because of that. wright do you accept what some people are saying right now on the dominic cummings matter... that when someone ina cummings matter... that when someone in a position of power that she is makes a decision to protect his family and did what he died, the danger is that sends the wrong message? —— and did what he did, the danger is that sends the wrong message. i don't think it does send the wrong message. he was just looking after his family, which is a private affair. i don‘t think that he has done anything, a

here's mr cummings again.ry ill on the sunday, the 12th, i said to my wife let's pack up the car and go back. i had been cleared by the doctors to go back to work. and she said and i think it was perfectly reasonable, a few days ago you could barely stand up. you said that your eyesight was weird and it seemed to be weird. we should notjust embark on a 270 whatever it is mile journey and then end up finding halfway through that you actually can't drive that far. so... we should get in the car and make sure, see if you can actually drive. the only way to avoid this problem would have been to just say i'm going to stay in durham which i could have done that i did not think was the right thing to do. so who is dominic cummings? he is mrjohnson‘s closest political advisor in number 10 downing street. he's made his career by positioning himself as defying conventional wisdom and trying to upset the established order. he was the key architect behind the successful vote leave campaign of the 2016 referendum, known fo

this for borisjohnson, sticking by mr cummings? it is a risk.lly it is the advisers who throw themselves in front of politicians to soak up the damage and today we saw the prime minister chucking himself out there to defend his key aide and those close to him say that was partly because he was convinced by what mrcummings was partly because he was convinced by what mr cummings explained to him about the reasons for his behaviour but more importantly it is because borisjohnson has but more importantly it is because boris johnson has come but more importantly it is because borisjohnson has come to really, really rely on dominic cummings. he is absolutely at the centre of the operation in downing street and around here he is either seen as admirably ruthless or by many of his enemies as relentlessly and somehow foolishly antagonistic. but for the prime minister, whether back during the brexit referendum or the general election and now in his time in office, he is core to what happens in downing street and he has therefore made the calculation that

dominic cummings made huge sacrifices.stayed away from family, from plenty of members of family he would have loved to see, i'm sure, and stayed within his family unit. we have heard a lot of left—wing commentators when the lockdown started saying it was too liberal compared to the lockdown in continental europe, and now we are hearing left—wing commentators say that the lockdown, everyone interpreted it as being stronger thanit interpreted it as being stronger than it was. it doesn't make sense, they are not being consistent with these accounts. so what is the case? we have had a lockdown in this country that has had exceptions, i don't think anybody would deny that at any stage. similarly i think dominic cummings today will be trying to set out, he clearly thinks he can answer these questions. last word to maya goodfellow, do you think he can repair the damage? no, because this is about the way the government has handled this, about the way the prime minister has handled this, putting himself in front of his aide. it is

as far as spoke to cummings about lockdown". as farasi spoke to cummings about lockdown". is important for us all to stick to the facts as far as we can, rowena. coming to sam lister of the express? prime minister, dominic cummings that mistakes had been made in the handling of the coronavirus crisis, but it was for the government to explain. i am sure he must have discussed this with you. i wonder if you could tell us what they are? and in your announcement today, many people will be pleased that shops are reopening. we do encourage people who are financially able to get out and spend to revive the economy? sam, the short answer is yes. insofar as people can get out and enjoy themselves in the open airfrom the 1st of out and enjoy themselves in the open air from the 1st ofjune as they can make use of open—air shopping and car showrooms, i'm not going to discourage them from spending at all. it's early days, but we are hoping there will be a bounce back over the next few months. so the short answer to your question is yes. and the first question? forgive me, the first ques

the local council says dominic cummings's visit has made it harderfor dominic cummings's visit has madenic cummings's visit has made it harderfor them to dominic cummings's visit has made it harder for them to enforce the rules. we have to get their message out that we are still on lockdown, still have social distancing measures in force. boris needs to make quick actions now to get public confidence back. but here on the promenade, most visitors say they are still staying alert. it's not right, and there's rules that need to be in place, so you should follow them, but if he's doing it, i do think some people may look at that and think, if somebody like him is doing it, we will change what we are doing. but that's not right, i don't think. he did do wrong. no, he hasn't made me change my mind, my tactics. i'm still alert and careful. everyone has had childcare issues. it feels hypocritical, it feels arrogant. this ice cream shack is doing what it can to keep people apart, especially when the weight feels long. luciano is eagerly awaiting the next steps. responsible relaxation of the rul

the car that the cummings family he thought were using.online and the first five characters of the number plate matched. to him it was a vehicle he saw with his own eyes matching a vehicle in the photograph photograph with mr cummings. as far as he's concerned he confident the man mr cummings. not at the property he said he was staying up at 30 miles away. we've also had durham police issue a statement which contradicts what's downing street had said on saturday morning. yes, this is something that the labour party of picking up on. they're talking about potential inconsistencies in the reaction from downing street. specifically we were told that mr cummings and his family were at a property near where his family are. they were staying in house near his extended family. apparently his sister was providing supplies which left outside. in accordance with the rules. now saying this was part of his father's property for that we have it at the exact layout of what it's like they are but the update from the police in durham is he was staying in

excuse me dominic cummings in a private. through. you know i me he will keep going oh sorry. technology worked so well say the agreed facts are really simple cummings your in a private place he sent a lot of rules he left the house when somebody was living with. corona virus symptoms he was in a confined space with that person in this case a car for several hours and he went to a 2nd home i just want to be clear promise in saying he behave honorably did the right thing by. trying to put in place childcare arrangements are you saying that if somebody is in the same position as dominic cummings and have the same childcare concerns they are clearly at liberty to do precisely what he did yes no not sure and secondly retail businesses need a bit of time shopped it a bit of time to prepare to open all the ethnic on june 1st oh thanks very much robert and 1st of all i really just want to repeat what i i said earlier on looking at the very severe childcare difficulties that presented themselves to the commies and his family i think that what they did was totally understandable there'

mr cummings was photographed back in downing street. and on the 19th of april, newspaper reports say a witness spotted mr cummings in bluebell woods near durham. the prime minister defended the position of his chief of staff, dominic cummings, who this weekend it was revealed had travelled across the country while sick with the virus during lockdown. i want to begin by answering that question people have been asking in the last 48 hours, and that is, is this government asking you, the people, the public, to do one thing while senior people here in government do something else. have we been asking you to make sacrifices to obey social distancing, stay at home, while some people have been basically flouting those rules and endangering lives? and it's because i take this matter so and it's because i take this matter so seriously and because it is so serious that i can tell you today that i've had extensive face—to—face conversations with dominic cummings andi conversations with dominic cummings and i have concluded that in travelling to fi

the next date is when mr cummings and his family were in durham, and mr cummings was self—isolating inbefore this, mr cummings himself wrote that he could hardly stand up because of the effects of his coronavirus symptoms. nevertheless on that day, he went by car to pick nevertheless on that day, he went by carto pick up nevertheless on that day, he went by car to pick up his wife and son from the hospital. now he says he never left the car, but the government‘s on guidelines say he should have never left the house. know anyone who has children knows you sometimes have to make difficult decisions. but the guidelines from the nhs say very clearly that staff can be asked to arrange transport if patients have no other options available. in the government guidelines at the time sake mrcummings the government guidelines at the time sake mr cummings should not have left the house that day. that trip was a new detail we learned in the press conference yesterday. and then, the now—infamous trip on easter sunday to barnard castle, 30 miles or so from durham? 12 april, easter sunday, as you say.

cummings didn't? think that's a danger they face rather than more twists and turns for this particular story. anchor: i don't know what you thought about this, listening to boris johnson an hour after dominic cumming spoke today that you got the sense that he really wanted to have them home, but that message for the government not to be overshadowed by what happened today at the rose garden in downing street >> that's what governments do, right? they want the public to move on and the journalists and media to move on, and that's perfectly understandable. in the case of something quite as scary as the covid crisis, and obviously lots of people wi agree, but i think what you see come into u.k. politics in the last few weeks, is not been just this crisis, but it's that increasing criticism of the government. when you have the initial crisis and by large the people rally behind the government, opinion poll ratings are high, that sort of phases over. people are, many would say, entirely and legitimately qu

these think mr cummings should resign? yes, iam think mr cummings should resign? father and grandfather, i understand mr cummings‘ desire to protect his four—year—old son and any parent would understand that, but this man is a member of a team in numberio but this man is a member of a team in number 10 downing street and you cannot have one law for the prime minister‘s team and another for absolutely everybody else. i agree with steve baker, i think his position is untenable and i think he has to go. but you have heard what downing street have said, he acted reasonably and legally, so the problem? the problem is you cannot have one lover downing st and another for everybody else. people all over the country have children, but they have had to self—isolate with them and they haven‘t been able to provide childcare for them, this is not one law for one person and another for absolutely everybody else and there is a degree of hubris and arrogance in this. it goes beyond acceptability. as i have said, ithink beyond acceptability. as i have said, i think his position is

i think dominic cummings is crucial to boris johnson's premiership i think dominic cummings is crucialto explain it any other weight because he has expended so much political capital on defending him, quite apart from the arguments over whether or not he breached the rules by seeking child care, which in the end of because he didn't require. there is the trip to barnard castle. it is very hard to see how that comes within any rules. so given that and given the potential damage to public support for any further restrictions, i can only conclude that mrjohnson thinks that the success or failure of his approach to coronavirus, and i suspect to brexit, is intimately linked with dominic cummings continuing to work with him in no 10. thank you very much, norman. norman smith at westminster. boris johnson being questioned by senior mps late on this afternoon and you will be able to watch that questioning on bbc news. i think it is about to be, 2:30pm, like that. donald trump has accused twitter of interfering in the 2020 us election after it labelled two posts by the president as potentially

thank you, mr cummings. to london from durham. did you seek any such advice before making the initial trip to durham? no, i didn't. and we re trip to durham? no, i didn't. and were you confident, or how could you be confident that you wouldn't be putting anybody else at risk by making that trip? so, the point was that i knew that i could get to a place that was completely isolated... i knew that i had a full tank of petrol, i could drive to a place where i was completely isolated from everybody else. i knew that if me and my wife could not look after our small child, there was a 16—year—old and a 20—year—old, 50 metres away, that i could call and say, we need help. they are old enough to look after a child, and also young enough to be in the least at risk category. if i'd stayed in london and a similar thing had happened and i would have had to get somebody else there and expose them to danger, or invite them into the house, which would also have exposed them to danger. the way that i did it seem to me to be

ministers insist mr cummings acted legally and reasonably.most people will probably be thinking watching this is what would i do in that situation? i've got a young child, my wife is unwell, i'm worried about the ability to support the child as a father. do you then end up saying, well, we'll take the best possible option in order to be able to provide the ongoing care for that child and therefore go to where there's a network, but not go inside the parents' house, but rely on the younger generation. but a former downing street director of communications thinks he should go. there has been one rule for people in downing street and one for the rest of the country. that's the thing that sticks in the craw, i think, of the british people. and that's why i think mr cummings really should, at the very, very least, express some contrition. and i would have thought, actually, to resign. tomorrow the cabinet will meet to discuss how to ease the lockdown further, but ministers will be concerned that new questions about mr cummings may make it harder t

reporter: have you undermined the message, mr cummings? downing street with the backing of the prime minister, but there are growing calls for dominic cummings to quit or be fired. he's accused of breaking lockdown rules by travelling to durham when his wife had coronavirus symptoms, so they could be close to other family members in case they needed help caring for their young son. i think he followed the instincts of every father and every parent, and i do not mark him down for that. i believe, that in every respect, he has acted responsibly and legally and with integrity. the uk was placed into lockdown on 23rd march, with strict limitations on travel. the government guidelines stated you should not be visiting family members who do not live in your home. the last time dominic cummings was seen before developing coronavirus symptoms was in london on 27th march. four days later, durham police said it was made aware of reports that an individual had travelled from london to durham. on 12th april, newspaper reports suggested mr cummings was

borisjohnson‘s senior adviser dominic cummings lecturing reporters on social distancing.s wife and a four—year—old child did not self—isolate when she fell ill, but travelled more than 250 miles to county durham. it's a question of doing the right thing. it's not about what you guys think. the government's guidance on self—isolation says... but in a statement, downing street set out to explain why borisjohnson‘s adviser didn't stay at home. durham police say they made contact with the owners of an address. downing street insists that at no stage was dominic cummings or his family were spoken to by the police about this matter. where does this leave the government's stay at home guidamce now? is the advice now to parents that, if you don't have your own extended family nearby, even when you're ill with covid symptoms, you are allowed to leave your home, travel many miles across the country and isolate closer to your extended family? the important thing is everyone remains in the same place while they are locked down. that's exactly what happened with mrcummings. he was sta

can you defend your actions, mr cummings, during the lockdown? it is not a good look, mr cummings.avel260 miles, mr cummings, when you might've had coronavirus? i behaved reasonably and legally. it is not a good look, though, is it, mr cummings? who cares about good looks? it is a question of doing the right thing. it's not about what you guys think. not that many words there from dominic cummings as he got into his vehicle. but we will follow element on that story over the course of the afternoon. two more international news. “— afternoon. two more international news. —— two more international news. brazil's president, jair bolsonaro, faces a growing political crisis after the supreme court ordered the release of a video in which he says he will replace law enforcement officials who are investigating his family. mr bolsonaro's sons are suspected of corruption. he denies trying to interfere with the federal police. katy watson reports from sao paulo. it might not look much, but its content is more explosive than brazil's famed soap operas. a video so widely anticipated by brazilian

mr cummings is, you know, in the public eye. the reality of the matter is that a four—year—old child's welfare, ithink, is the important thing. after weeks of increasing attacks — taliban and afghan government forces agree a three—day ceasefire, to mark the eid holiday. funerals take place in pakistan after the plane crash in a residential area of karachi that killed 97 people. spain continues to ease its lockdown. tourists can travel to the country again from july and top—flight football will resume next month. hello. welcome to bbc news. there are new claims about the movements of the british prime minister's advisor, dominic cummings, during lockdown. he's faced calls to resign — for driving more than 400 kilometres from london to the north—east of england after his wife developed coronavirus symptoms. downing street has defended mr cummings's trip to be nearfamily, saying it had been "essential" for him to ensure he had childcare. here's our political correspondent iain watson. you're supposed to be more than two metres apar

mr cummings insists he's done nothing wrong and that he behaved " reasonably and legally". cares about how it looks? it's a question of doing the right thing. it's not about what you guys think. the government defended him — saying he wanted to stay with family to ensure he had childcare if he got symptoms of coronavirus. mr cummings is, you know, in the public eye but the reality of the matter is a four—year—old child's welfare i think is the important thing. businesses will be expected to pay a quarter of the wages of furloughed workers — from the start of august. and guernsey becomes the first part of the british isles to remove nearly all its lockdown restrictions. good afternoon. the prime minister's top aide dominic cummings is facing calls to resign after it emerged he travelled more than 250 miles with his wife — who was sick with suspected coronavirus — to be near relatives during the lockdown. downing street says that mr cummings drove from london to county durham to be near relatives who could help with childcare if he became unwell — and that his actions were in

there has been support for dominic cummings but first. who is dominic cummings?nson‘s closest political advisor in number 10 downing street. he's made his career by positioning himself as defying conventional wisdom and trying to upset the established order. he was the key architect behind the successful vote leave campaign of the 2016 referendum, known for coming up with the slogan "take back control." mr cummings was so prominent in that campaign that he was portrayed by benedict cumberbatch as the protaganist in the emmy nominated tv drama brexit: the uncivil war. dominic cummings actions and the defence by borisjohnson have prompted a massive public response. mp's have been posting some of the letters they've received. none are likely to be more powerful than this from john wilson. seven paragraphs of controlled fury. he writes... he goes on... he gave the bbc his reaction to mr cummings' explanation. i got the distinct impression that the rules and the law are different depending on which side of the front door of number 10 downing street you're standing. i