One key question the PM has yet to be asked:
If you and ministers approved/endorsed Cummings' trip to Durham, why not widely publicise AT THE TIME the exemption that you thought allowed him to travel? So that other parents could act similarly?
If you and ministers approved/endorsed Cummings' trip to Durham, why not widely publicise AT THE TIME the exemption that you thought allowed him to travel? So that other parents could act similarly?
The answer may be this: we didn't do that because we feared it would undermine the much simpler Stay At Home message.
And by widely publicise, I mean widely publicise. Ie make clear and *explicit* what those exceptional circumstances were (does the child or parent have this or that medical condition) so that parents could act accordingly.
And don't @me the Jenny Harries quote or the one line about If You Have Children because neither is explicit.
In fact many parents felt that advice meant 'it may not be practicable to self isolate in one room of your home if you have kids who rely on you'
In fact many parents felt that advice meant 'it may not be practicable to self isolate in one room of your home if you have kids who rely on you'
The fact is, if you knew that the senior aide in no10 had travelled hundreds of miles, you had a duty to the country to publicise that exemption so that others could do the same.
And No10 wdnt have had to breach Cummings privacy to do so.
And No10 wdnt have had to breach Cummings privacy to do so.
If the exemption was so strong and valid, why not urgently publicise it at the time? Cops would have had clearer guidance when stopping motorists.
Deciding not to publicise the exemption (and I stress Cummings need not have been mentioned at all) leaves the impression that there was indeed a secret list of loopholes known only by an elite few.
Of course to proactively announce at a No10 press conf (accompanied by publication of new official "clarification" of exemptions to lockdown) that 'You Can Drive An Unlimited Distance In The UK/Stay In A Relative's Property, If You're A Parent With X Circs' wd need Sage approval
I stress this is to take at face value the PM's and Cummings' own explanations (and many dont). But if you assume good faith, why didn't No10 publicise this exemption widely at the time so others beyond an elite No10 group could benefit?
Didn't they feel a public duty to do so?
Didn't they feel a public duty to do so?
The exclnt @iainjwatson asked whether the PM had approved the trip + got no answer.
My point is a diff one. If BJ had approved/condoned it, why not share the exemption for others?
After all, the PM had himself had to self isolate at this time, so all these Qs v live in his mind
My point is a diff one. If BJ had approved/condoned it, why not share the exemption for others?
After all, the PM had himself had to self isolate at this time, so all these Qs v live in his mind
