Harrogate MP sticks to guns over Dominic Cummings 'must resign' call

Andrew Jones said he had not changed his opinion since calling on him to quit on Sunday after newspaper reports that Dominic Cummings had driven from London to County Durham while his wife had coronavirus symptoms.

Mr Jones said he was no fan of witch hunts and believed that the high profile figure himself believed that he had acted correctly.

But, he added, it remained utterly clear the advisor had ignored the rules.

Mr Jones said: “It is difficult to see how someone so instrumental in drawing up the rules can then say that what we all understood them to be actually has a ‘Yes, but...’ in the small print when it comes to the choices he made.

“That is why I have not changed my opinion that the correct course of action is for Mr Cummings, in one way or another, to leave his role.”

National newspapers today, Thursday, reported that 44 Tory MPs are now calling for Dominic Cummings to resign with 61 critical of his behaviour over travelling 260 miles to his family estate in Durham during lockdown.

The MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough acknowledged there had been political interests at work at times during national the furore over the advisor’s actions, but said the facts spoke for themselves.

Mr Jones said: "I do not like witch-hunts. I think anyone using this issue to attack Mr Cummings because they don’t like what he may or may not have done in the past is misguided.

"This issue is about how he behaved in this context and nothing else.

"I believe though that Mr Cummings is genuine in the account he has given and believes he acted correctly given the circumstances.

"However, I believe most other people faced with similar circumstances would have made, and did make, different choices more in line with what we all knew the rules to be at that time."

A rail minister in the previous Tory administration, Mr Jones said: “We all know and understood the rules. Most stuck by that understanding.

“Most haven’t had to use multiple justifications relying on how they interpret this, that or the other among the rules.”

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Despite Prime Minister Boris Johnson telling critical MPs earlier today by video that we "need to move on" from the controversy during a grilling from the Commons Liaison Committee, Judith Rogerson, Harrogate & Knaresborough Lib Dems, Parliamentary Spokesperson has also joined the chorus of disapproval.

She said: “It has been an unsightly spectacle to watch the Prime Minister and other Conservative Government Ministers come out in support of Dominic Cummings.

“The fact that many Conservative MPs, including Andrew Jones, are calling for him to go is a sign of just how angry people feel about this.”

Harrogate and Knaresborough Constituency Labour Party issued a statement expressing its “disgust” at the behaviour of Boris Johnson’s most important political strategist.

The statement said: “For Dominic Cummings to continue to serve as a senior Government advisor would be an insult to the British people.”

On going to press Boris Johnson was still standing by his man.

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