Sickening: Surely now must be the time for the Prime Minister to resign?
One of the best things to come out of the initial Dominic Cummings scandal in 2020 was the cross-party and non-partisan disdain for the Prime Minister’s former special adviser.
Most of the time, it didn’t matter what side of the political fence you sat on - you could have been from ‘the right’ or ‘the left’; you could have been from the centre, or you could have been apolitical - and most likely, you’d have agreed that what he did was fundamentally wrong.
Whatever the justification.
It was ironic in a way that one of the key elements that created such division in the country would serve as the unifying primary focus for [almost] all of our hatred.
Indeed, a key takeaway from the Barnard Castle incident - supported by the view of The Lancet - was how it undermined the government’s message to ‘Stay Home, Protect the NHS, Save Lives’
Or ‘One rule for them; another for us’.
But interestingly, it’s clear now that - with the recent revelations [by Cummings himself] that there was a party at Downing St. on May 20, 2020, there was at least some trade-off when the Prime Minister supported the man.
Now we know why.
Small History Lesson
If you look at the dates key to all of this, the party alleged to have taken place by Cummings happened on May 20.
The story - a joint story between The Guardian and the Daily Mirror - of Dominic Cummings’ lockdown trip to Durham and Barnard Castle broke on May 22.
Cummings’ now-infamous press conference was on May 25 and was followed by the Prime Minister’s own press conference where he responded to a question from a member of the public.
The Question:
Since the restrictions have been lifted, there are large groups gathering in local parks, ignoring all social distancing rules. When many of us are being so vigilant and staying alert, what can be done to discourage this blatant disregard for the rules?
Boris Johnson’s answer:
It is absolutely vital that all of us continue to observe the rules on social distancing, on washing our hands, and making sure that if we have symptoms, that we self isolate, get a test as we go forward. And the only reason we’ve been able to make as much progress as we have, the only reason that I’m able to announce that we’re able finally to begin getting schools back, to begin getting retail back from the 1st of June is because this country has observed the social distancing rules. So… what I would say is obviously you should feel free to speak to people yourself if you feel that they are not obeying the rules, but the police will step in if necessary and encourage people to obey the law.
On ‘obeying the law’, the Metropolitan Police offered this advice the day the party was alleged to have taken place.
Which was also on the same day as former culture secretary and now Tory Party chairman Oliver Dowden told the public:
“limit contact with other people”
“you can meet one person outside of your household in an outdoor, public place - provided that you stay two metres apart”
“staying alert for the vast majority of people still means staying at home as much as possible”
“If everyone stays alert and follows the rules, we can control coronavirus”
“This is how we can continue to save lives and livelihoods as we begin as a nation to recover from coronavirus.”
The press conference itself happened less than an hour before the alleged party began, following invites sent by civil servant Martin Reynolds to over “100 people” urging attendees to bring their own drinks.
Which, as it turns out, the Metropolitan Police are ‘retrospectively’ interested in after all.
Funny, that
The Prime Minister’s initial defence/non-defence yesterday was:
All that, as you know, is subject of a proper investigation by Sue Gray.
Johnson is referring to the Sue Gray investigation surrounding historic lockdown breaches that was thrown into disrepute initially when the original man [Simon Case - noted to be investigating] was found to have had a Christmas party in his own office in 2020.
The new allegations [of the party held on May 20, 2020] were added to the list of alleged historic breaches.
Why it matters - where were you?
The public outrage to this story should be as vociferous as the public’s anger towards Dominic Cummings’ trip to Barnard Castle.
Where were you on Wednesday May 20, 2020?
If I recall, I was stuck inside my house with my family unable to go anywhere or visit anybody, and ‘home schooling’ my then 5 year old son at the same time as facing the trepidation of making the decision for him to return to school after Whitsun - which he did not do.
At the same time, I was struggling to find the balance between that and work, which itself was hindered [and ultimately crippled] by lockdown - and without any support from the Chancellor - and led to the focus on the original NATB page.
In fact, I wrote a poignant article [a rare opinion-piece] on May 20 speaking about the trepidation I had in returning my son to school.
I criticised Boris Johnson’s cynical attempt to over-ride protocol in ensuring Captain Tom Moore be knighted.
I highlighted “Grand Kommisar Piers 'Tet Offensive' Morgan, exalted Tsar of the Democratic People's Liberation Commune of the United Kingdom” and his criticisms of then Lord Chancellor Robert Buckland on Good Morning Britain.
I noted the hypocrisy - still ongoing - of Michael Gove and his previous statements regarding ‘border checks’ in the North of Ireland.
I drew on the story from openDemocracy that their reporters had been banned from attending press conferences and briefings being held by No. 10.
Then finally, I pointed out that then culture secretary [referred to earlier] misled the British public during his media briefing by giving an erroneous statistic on coronavirus testing.
All on May 20, 2020.
In a way, looking back at this time capsule of appalling memes and information and opinion [as opposed to facts], it’s remarkable the page became popular, frankly, but it’s also sad in a way to know that - in a microcosm - May 20’s events represent everything that is fundamentally wrong with the Conservative Party.
Where you were - as in you, the loyal page readers - was revealed throughout the weekend after the Dominic Cummings story ‘broke’.
Heartbreaking
When the Cummings story ‘broke’, my page was still very, very small and modest - still is in many ways; this new one on Substack, too - but it had enough support from people to warrant a message [or 31] from people who told me where they were - so that I could reflect it to my Conservative MP [Philip Hollobone MP] who went on to refer me to a Spiked Online article and reiterate the party line at the time, “I don’t know the man.”
Birthdays, anniversaries, funerals, births, deaths, the inability to see family members, some of whom were in hospitals, care homes, some even had family members that had died - the sacrifices we mostly all made ‘for the greater good’ because we were told to by the individuals who literally wrote the rules. The key workers on the front-line, our beloved NHS, businesses crippled.
And yet:
The content - the nonchalance - of this very small, very simple e-mail is sickening, and it was happening all within the same timeframe - as noted above - as the outrage that we were all experiencing over Dominic Cummings.
Cummings, the lynchpin in this discussion, probably felt when he wrote his article last week that he was sick of ultimately taking the flack for this but then even he, along with 100 others invited to the party, knew about this all along.
And sat on it for nearly 2 years.
And said nothing. Did nothing.
Is it fair to judge the media? Possibly, but then I’d direct those to this interview between BBC’s Ros Atkins, ITV’s Paul Brand and the Mirror’s superlative Pippa Crerar on the nature of how stories - particularly of this importance - need to be corroborated.
Is it fair to judge the Metropolitan Police for effectively turning a blind eye? Yes, and to some degree.
Is it fair to judge Martin Reynolds CBE, the civil servant that suggested the initial party? Definitely, for his role is now untenable.
In the case of Reynolds, we will most likely see his resignation in due course and the Prime Minister will likely feel as though a line has been drawn, as he did with Allegra Stratton back in December following her departure.
But what about the Prime Minister?
The allegations are that Boris Johnson attended the party, and the nature of the ‘BYOB’ [or ‘Bring your own booze’] detail would suggest that he could not successfully defend it as a ‘work gathering’
To suggest he did not know about the party, would be an insult to our collective intelligence, and double standards when - recalling upon other members’ seemingly justifiable trangressions [namely those of Stephen Kinnock - who met with another household belonging to his father in the early days of the pandemic], were roundly criticised, and also occured to a considerably lesser extent.
Is there a remote possibility that the Prime Minister ‘did not break the law’ because he didn’t ‘organise’ the party? I refer to this tweet by barrister [an authority on lockdown regulations] Adam Wagner:
However…
But most tellingly, and in accordance with the Ministerial Code, this contribution from the Prime Minister:
The ministerial code states:
“Ministers who knowingly mislead Parliament will be expected to offer their resignation to the Prime Minister.”
And so, once again, the Prime Minister - if found in breach of the coronavirus restrictions at the time - would have knowingly misled the house, which, in usual circumstances, would result in both a) an apology, and b) a resignation.
Beyond most things, however, is the confidence the country has in the Prime Minister - which, as we have seen recently, has taken a ‘knock’ following the relevations of the Christmas parties that took place in 2020, among other things [ie. one particular story that will feature on this page and has been abandoned due to this recent news is the cost-of-living crisis].
Quite what the Conservative Party are hoping for at this stage by reiterating that Sue Gray’s investigation is “vitally important” - as health minister Edward Argar has; even though the evidence is profound, short of the obligatory ‘photos’ or ‘video’s, and mounting evidence…
…is unclear.
But it seems to this page - in its modest capacity, at least - that Johnson has lost the room, possibly facing a criminal and legal quandry, has almost definitely misled Parliament, and no, Conservative ministers taking to Twitter to say that he was “doing what any dad would have done” or his supporters appropriating the #BeKind movement reflecting on the tragic death of Caroline Flack to score a political point - is still not an acceptable riposte.
But it’ll be just as sickening.