Cummings investigated by police

[John52]

pelmetman - 2020-05-26 9:36 AM

 

 

Has Boris offered Fishface anymore taxpayer dosh?.......NO *-) .......

 

 

 

 

Not yet... he's already giving us 'Losers' enough of your money to be going on with :D

But the way he is going on he will have to increase it before Fishface gets us another vote :D

 

PS: and I don't suppose Fishface really wants your money. Because if BoJo wasn't giving us so much of YOUR money to maintain HIS empire, we would vote her in

[globebuster]

Don636 - 2020-05-26 9:15 AM

 

John52 - You just admitted that you have broken the lockdown rules when I understood that you believe you are acting within them. Please explain.

 

I'm afraid you won't get very far with that question Don -

 

On the other hand, you might get a load meaningless waffle, which has no bearing to your question.

 

It appears John 52 sees himself as above the law - but has the temerity to criticise others.

[Guest pelmetman]

Barryd999 - 2020-05-26 9:37 AM

 

Well I expected to wake up this morning to hear news of Johnsons resignation but nothing!! Surely he has to resign now having backed Cummings. The entire country now knows what a couple of spiv liars they both are, Johnsons position as PM is untenable surely!

 

 

http://www.electionpolling.co.uk/polls/general-election

 

Looks like the country doesn't give a toss what you Losers think (lol) (lol) (lol) ..........

 

 

[John52]

Barryd999 - 2020-05-26 9:37 A

 

He says he never went into the town of Barnard castle but parked by the river and walked 10 or 20 metres to it. Would love to know where he parked then as all the parking to get to the river is in town

 

There is a lay by on the main road close to the river near the flats, just before you get up into the town. Attracts less attention to park outside flats than someone's house, because all the flat dwellers assume the car is visiting someone else - and less likely to be covered by CCTV than a car park. Apparently he craftily parked there, bur scarpered when he saw the person who recognised him taking his registration number.

[Barryd999]

John52 - 2020-05-26 10:03 AM

 

Barryd999 - 2020-05-26 9:37 A

 

He says he never went into the town of Barnard castle but parked by the river and walked 10 or 20 metres to it. Would love to know where he parked then as all the parking to get to the river is in town

 

There is a lay by on the main road close to the river near the flats, just before you get up into the town. Attracts less attention to park outside flats than someone's house, because all the flat dwellers assume the car is visiting someone else - and less likely to be covered by CCTV than a car park. Apparently he craftily parked there, bur scarpered when he saw the person who recognised him taking his registration number.

 

Only lay by is down by the bridge on the main A67. you would have to be a total moron to park there if you didnt want to be seen as its right on the bridge traffic lights and is always a hold up. The worst place you could stop in the town if you didnt want to be seen.

[Barryd999]

pelmetman - 2020-05-26 9:52 AM

 

Barryd999 - 2020-05-26 9:37 AM

 

Well I expected to wake up this morning to hear news of Johnsons resignation but nothing!! Surely he has to resign now having backed Cummings. The entire country now knows what a couple of spiv liars they both are, Johnsons position as PM is untenable surely!

 

 

http://www.electionpolling.co.uk/polls/general-election

 

Looks like the country doesn't give a toss what you Losers think (lol) (lol) (lol) ..........

 

 

Looks like most of that data is well out of date. There is a pattern though if you look at it and the direction of approval is going south. (Down)

 

Only a matter of time now the media across the board has turned on them. The Tories may have another four years but with any luck it wont be with Johnson at the helm. Voters and the new northern Baby Tories have hung onto his shirt tails desperately because its been a huge investment for them but they are slowly waking up to the fact that they elected a moron and serial liar. Give him enough rope.

[John52]

Barryd999 - 2020-05-26 10:47 AM

 

right on the bridge traffic lights and is always a hold up.

 

This was the height of the lockdown so maybe there wasn't then

[John52]

All the party leaders have already said they would sack anyone who did what Cummings did.

Now its gone a step further with ministers sacking themselves because they don't want to be associated with it. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/may/26/junior-minister-resigns-over-dominic-cummings-lockdown-trip-douglas-ross

[Don636]

You can get down right next to the river if you park in the lay-by on Abbey Lane as you turn right just after crossing Egglestone Abbey Bridge just before reaching Eaglestone Abbey and about 1 1/2 miles out of town. We walk round that way often but we park in town - very quiet near the Abbey as there are hardly ever any cars parked there although we have noticed more recently since lockdown restrictions were eased. But we don’t actually know where they stopped although the car park I mention would seem an unlikely place to be passing on your way back to Durham.

[Barryd999]

John52 - 2020-05-26 10:55 AM

 

Barryd999 - 2020-05-26 10:47 AM

 

right on the bridge traffic lights and is always a hold up.

 

This was the height of the lockdown so maybe there wasn't then

 

Its still a major thoroughfare for commercial traffic and its still in the town so a regular spot for walkers, people out exercising etc. Clearly as he was spotted. For supposedly such a clever bloke it was a stupid place to have gone which just makes it all the more clear that everything he said yesterday was a lie. If you had wanted to go for a discrete drive to "test your eyes" there are a million places he could have gone without being spotted. Teesdale is I think the biggest district in the country at 322 square miles but is the second least populated district in England behind neighbouring Eden in Cumbria. So very easy to have a little jolly and not get noticed unless you go to the largest town in the district and tourist hot spot Barnard Castle.

 

 

[StuartO]

There has been a lot of nit picking about what DC did and whether this or that bit was against the Lockdown Rules but if you listened to what the man said yesterday he came across as a man genuinely wanting to protecting his family and at the same time to get back to his challenging job asap and those who continuing to criticise him seem to me to be doing so peevishly.

 

For example DC was being citicised for going to his parents'spare cottage because there are single paprents in london who had no option but to stay put in their tiny little flat and look after their kids on their own. It’s at the level of criticising everyone who’s been sitting out in their garden during lockdown because some people don’t have a garden. We’ve probably all bent or broken the strict letter of the rules a little bit in some way or other and lots have people (notably our John52) have driven a coach and horses through them. I drove 15 miles to a cash machine just to get some money out when I was running low - was that against the rules?

 

 

[Barryd999]

StuartO - 2020-05-26 12:24 PM

 

There has been a lot of nit picking about what DC did and whether this or that bit was against the Lockdown Rules but if you listened to what the man said yesterday he came across as a man genuinely wanting to protecting his family and at the same time to get back to his challenging job asap and those who continuing to criticise him seem to me to be doing so peevishly. It’s at the level of criticising everyone who’s been sitting out in their garden during lockdown because some people don’t have a garden. We’ve probably all bent or broken the strict letter of the rules a little bit in some way or other and lots have people (notably our John52) have driven a coach and horses through them. I drove 15 miles to a cash machine just to get some money out when I was running low - was that against the rules?

 

 

Stop trying to defend the indefensible. You could almost forgive him for the trip up to Durham if the whole story is true (lets face it they had plenty of time to work on that one before yesterdays delayed press conference) but he has been caught totally pants down having a Jolly to Barnard Castle on his wifes Birthday. A town I might add with a very elderly and vulnerable population. Johnson is just as guilty as he stated just 24 hours earlier whilst in possession of all the facts that what Cummings did was acceptable.

 

No amount of whataboutery can do anything to fix this. Its no wonder the vast majority of the public are outraged and anyone trying to defend both Cummings and the Prime Minister just looks foolish now.

[StuartO]

Barryd999 - 2020-05-26 12:32 PM Stop trying to defend the indefensible. You could almost forgive him for the trip up to Durham if the whole story is true (lets face it they had plenty of time to work on that one before yesterdays delayed press conference) but he has been caught totally pants down having a Jolly to Barnard Castle on his wifes Birthday. A town I might add with a very elderly and vulnerable population. Johnson is just as guilty as he stated just 24 hours earlier whilst in possession of all the facts that what Cummings did was acceptable. No amount of whataboutery can do anything to fix this. Its no wonder the vast majority of the public are outraged and anyone trying to defend both Cummings and the Prime Minister just looks foolish now.

 

I don't see his actions as indefensible at all - and I think it's blinkered foolishness to exaggerate by calling his trip to Barnard castle a "Jolly" or to bring in his wife's birthday or that Barnards Castle has an elderly population - DC didn't go anywhere nenar anyone else and he's explaned very clearly why they went out for that drive - it was a trial run for the return home. If you'd only just recovered from a few days in bed feeling lousy your wife would have been wanting reassurance that you were up to driving home.

 

There's no open-mindeness in people like you, you're just blinkered and full of hate. Big chip on the shoulder problem in your life is it?

[Don636]

I tend to think the media hounding of Cummings is wrong - he hasn’t committed a major crime has he. I was tending towards giving him the benefit of the doubt and that resignation was not necessary. I could perhaps accept his motivation for travelling to Durham and, as he saw it, a safe location for his family. Yes, I can see why people are upset that he felt it was acceptable to do what he did when they either could not due to their circumstances or chose to rigidly stay at home. He is clearly in the privileged position of having family with a large property that he could hole up in safely, which is a position most of us are not in, but should he be hounded because of having this facility available to him - I thought not. I was not entirely convinced by his performance with the media yesterday though. His approach is that he did what he did for the sake of his family and kept away from people at all times. He does not in any way regret his actions at the time and sees no reason to apologise to the people. A lot of emphasis on his actions being within the regulations, the detail of which is likely not to be understood by most of us who simply stayed at home. I think he could have showed a lot more humility than he did and recognised that, in hindsight, he could have tried harder to understand how the rest of us might view his actions and that he regretted any offence and upset caused. Even then I was still tending to give him the benefit of the doubt. However, having given the Barnard Castle element some more thought I think this is the killer. I can understand going to Durham but Barnard Castle sounds too much like a jolly to me - he could just have driven down the A1 a bit and back. Why on earth would you risk being seen or being pulled up by the police say. I would not like to be seen out and about during lockdown as I would not like people to think bad of me.

 

At the end of the day his Barnard Castle jaunt and his arrogance leads me to conclude that he should resign out of respect for the feelings of others if nothing else. He surely can’t be that important to the running of this country. I am not a fan of media hounding and politics driving such issues but in this case I think resigning would be the honourable thing to do although there are no doubt many others who should have done the same.

[StuartO]

Don636 - 2020-05-26 12:46 PM ......At the end of the day his Barnard Castle jaunt and his arrogance leads me to conclude that he should resign out of respect for the feelings of others if nothing else. He surely can’t be that important to the running of this country. I am not a fan of media hounding and politics driving such issues but in this case I think resigning would be the honourable thing to do although there are no doubt many others who should have done the same.

 

Unfortunately there a lot of people these days who think hey have the right to demand that someone resign or be sacked, including people who may not have lifted a finger themselves to help the Country through this Outbreak. Even if you have been a front line NHS worker, what right does that give you to show ingratitude to someone who has been busting a gut to help run the Counntry - and on top of that had to cope with probably suffering COVID-19 himself and worrying that his wife and young child were getting it too, with no extended family around to back them up. And he wanted to get back to work asap,so they did a test drive to check they could get back to London.

 

Who are you to judge you arrogant man?

[pepe63xnotuse]

Don636 - 2020-05-26 12:46 PM

 

I tend to think the media hounding of Cummings is wrong - he hasn’t committed a major crime has he. I was tending towards I think he could have showed a lot more humility than he did and recognised that, in hindsight, he could have tried harder to understand how the rest of us might view his actions and that he regretted any offence and upset caused. Even then I was still tending to give him the benefit of the doubt. However, having given the Barnard Castle element some more thought I think this is the killer. I can understand going to Durham but Barnard Castle sounds too much like a jolly to me - he could just have driven down the A1 a bit and back. Why on earth would you risk being seen or being pulled up by the police say. I would not like to be seen out and about during lockdown as I would not like people to think bad of me.

 

At the end of the day his Barnard Castle jaunt and his arrogance leads me to conclude that he should resign out of respect for the feelings of others if nothing else. He surely can’t be that important to the running of this country. I am not a fan of media hounding and politics driving such issues but in this case I think resigning would be the honourable thing to do although there are no doubt many others who should have done the same.

 

I'm inclined to agree.. His "jolly" out to Barnard Castle was one p*ss take too many.

( a "test drive"?.. to make sure his eye sight is okay..and all with his wife and young child onboard?..and coincidentally, also supposedly on her birthday?..really? (lol) (lol) ).

 

 

 

 

[John52]

StuartO - 2020-05-26 1:33 PM

 

someone who has been busting a gut to help run the Counntry -

 

Stuart - He is BoJo's Spin Doctor

That clearly makes him the most important person to BoJo

Doesn't mean we need him

 

[Barryd999]

StuartO - 2020-05-26 12:44 PM

 

Barryd999 - 2020-05-26 12:32 PM Stop trying to defend the indefensible. You could almost forgive him for the trip up to Durham if the whole story is true (lets face it they had plenty of time to work on that one before yesterdays delayed press conference) but he has been caught totally pants down having a Jolly to Barnard Castle on his wifes Birthday. A town I might add with a very elderly and vulnerable population. Johnson is just as guilty as he stated just 24 hours earlier whilst in possession of all the facts that what Cummings did was acceptable. No amount of whataboutery can do anything to fix this. Its no wonder the vast majority of the public are outraged and anyone trying to defend both Cummings and the Prime Minister just looks foolish now.

 

I don't see his actions as indefensible at all - and I think it's blinkered foolishness to exaggerate by calling his trip to Barnard castle a "Jolly" or to bring in his wife's birthday or that Barnards Castle has an elderly population - DC didn't go anywhere nenar anyone else and he's explaned very clearly why they went out for that drive - it was a trial run for the return home. If you'd only just recovered from a few days in bed feeling lousy your wife would have been wanting reassurance that you were up to driving home.

 

There's no open-mindeness in people like you, you're just blinkered and full of hate. Big chip on the shoulder problem in your life is it?

 

No, I am just not stupid enough to believe such a fabricated load of nonsense and thankfully for once neither are the majority of the public. Its nothing to do with hate or having a chip on your shoulder, Im just not stupid, I didnt think you were either but clearly you must be if you believe any of that nonsense.

 

On what planet would it make any sense if you were worried about your eyesight being good enough to drive to then get in a car with your wife and four year old child and drive 60 miles there and back when the advice is to stay at home? Of course the simple answer if he was worried about being able to drive would be to let his wife drive them back to London would it not?

 

Barnard Castle does indeed have an elderly population, I should know, I flipping live there. As for him no going anywhere near anybody else well clearly he did as he was spotted. There is nowhere you can park near the river in Barnard castle or around its boundaries without avoiding or being in sight of other people, houses etc.

 

You are still trying to defend the indefensible and it just makes you look stupid.

[Barryd999]

StuartO - 2020-05-26 1:33 PM

 

Don636 - 2020-05-26 12:46 PM ......At the end of the day his Barnard Castle jaunt and his arrogance leads me to conclude that he should resign out of respect for the feelings of others if nothing else. He surely can’t be that important to the running of this country. I am not a fan of media hounding and politics driving such issues but in this case I think resigning would be the honourable thing to do although there are no doubt many others who should have done the same.

 

Unfortunately there a lot of people these days who think hey have the right to demand that someone resign or be sacked, including people who may not have lifted a finger themselves to help the Country through this Outbreak. Even if you have been a front line NHS worker, what right does that give you to show ingratitude to someone who has been busting a gut to help run the Counntry - and on top of that had to cope with probably suffering COVID-19 himself and worrying that his wife and young child were getting it too, with no extended family around to back them up. And he wanted to get back to work asap,so they did a test drive to check they could get back to London.

 

Who are you to judge you arrogant man?

 

More nonsense. Firstly you have no idea what others have been doing to help during the lock down. Cummings and Johnson have not exactly shone throughout this have they. As a result of their incompetence in not locking down early enough we have the worst death rates in the world according to a chart I saw today. Cummings reckons he wasnt involved with the herd immunity nonsense, the take it on the chin bollox and all that but it has his name written all over it. You weren't one of these new baby Tory first time voters were you as you certainly sound like one.

[John52]

pelmetman - 2020-05-25 6:50 PM

 

Expect incoming from the ranting left (lol) ..........

 

 

Well I expect the worldwide press are 'ranting left' by your standards :D

This is what they are saying;

 

 

World media have reacted with disbelief to Dominic Cummings’ defence of his trip to Durham, saying that what the “machiavellian” adviser saw as reasonable behaviour did not appear so to many and risked damaging not just Boris Johnson’s government but democracy.

 

“No regrets, no excuses, no resignations … Il ne regrette rien,” said Libération, telling the story of “an extraordinary press conference during which Dominic Cummings confirmed that he had rewritten for himself the rules of the lockdown laid down by the government for which he works”.

 

Only once did the prime minister’s chief adviser appear confused, the French paper said, “almost taken aback by the question. Why no, he had not ‘offered his resignation, or even thought of offering it’, because he had absolutely no idea why he should have. Over and over again he repeated: ‘I acted reasonably’.”

 

Of Cummings’ Easter jaunt to Barnard Castle, undertaken – by his account – to check that his eyesight was up to the journey back to London, Libération remarked: “To many, driving 30 miles (they got that wrong it was 60 miles) with blurred vision and a four-year-old in the back might not be considered entirely reasonable. But not, apparently, to Dominic Cummings.”

 

Le Monde was equally astonished. “Usually, special advisers remain in the shadows,” it said. “At worst, when things go wrong, they quit. They never speak in public ... But for more than an hour, Cummings delivered his version of the facts, assuring all that he had ‘acted reasonably’, without breaking the rules.”

 

There was “no question of apologising. At most, he conceded one or two minor errors … But will the operation have been successful? It will, in any case, have shown how deeply Cummings wants to keep his job. And how deeply Boris Johnson cares about this very special special adviser.”

 

Spain’s El País said Cummings was meant to be “the breath of fresh, irreverent air that was going to help Boris Johnson design a new country after Brexit”. But the adviser’s “refusal to express any remorse for breaking the lockdown rules has caused a political gale that may irreparably damage the prime minister’s political credibility”.

 

Johnson’s “machiavellian henchman is asking for a display of understanding and empathy that at another time, and for another person, might have seemed humane and reasonable”, the paper said.

 

“But Cummings has left a trail of political enemies along the way, and the patience of British public opinion is at breaking point. The adviser so famously capable of scenting the mood of the people has not grasped that sometimes a resignation is not fair or unfair, but necessary to protect a superior.”

 

In Germany, Die Welt described a “bizarre” event at which “the second most powerful man in Westminster after Boris Johnson … refused to step down or even apologise, despite massive criticism of his trip to relatives during the coronavirus crisis. Cummings could have irreparably damaged confidence in the government.”

 

The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung said Cummings had “gone down in history as the first adviser to give a live press conference in Downing Street”. Usually, the paper said, “political advisers work for the government. In Cummings’ case, it is ministers who work for the adviser: one after another has been sent out to defend him.”

 

Whether the adviser’s trip broke the rules “remains a matter of interpretation,” the paper said, but there was no denying the extent of “the outrage that has shaken the country in the past few days. Not just politicians and commentators, but academics and churchmen – all echoing the chorus of citizens demanding Cummings go.”

 

In the Netherlands, NRC Handelsblad said Johnson was now stuck with “a growing problem. Firing Cummings, even temporarily, would remove his right hand – and Johnson’s most important ministers were appointed because of their views on Brexit, not their expert special knowledge or leadership experience.”

 

But keeping him “is equally dangerous”, the paper said. “It will show the British public that they do not need to observe the lockdown rules so strictly. And in that case, the authority of the Johnson government will crumble yet further.”

 

Beyond Europe, Australia’s The Age said Cummings’ press conference had “compounded his difficulties in a manner reminiscent of Prince Andrew’s catastrophic BBC interview in November”.

 

Of the trip to Barnard Castle “to test whether his eyes were working properly”, it asked: “After setting himself up as examiner and examinee, what were other drivers on the open road to do if he failed his own assessment?”

 

In a crisis such as the coronavirus, the paper said, “those who wield power - especially when they do so largely behind the scenes - cannot be exempted from accountability for their actions. In arguing, as Cummings has, that his is an exceptional case, he has given the impression he is beyond reproach. That is not a healthy position for anyone in a democracy to occupy.”

 

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/may/26/a-political-gale-worlds-press-on-dominic-cummings-self-defence#maincontent

[malc d]

pepe63 - 2020-05-26 2:07 PM

 

Don636 - 2020-05-26 12:46 PM

 

I tend to think the media hounding of Cummings is wrong - he hasn’t committed a major crime has he. I was tending towards I think he could have showed a lot more humility than he did and recognised that, in hindsight, he could have tried harder to understand how the rest of us might view his actions and that he regretted any offence and upset caused. Even then I was still tending to give him the benefit of the doubt. However, having given the Barnard Castle element some more thought I think this is the killer. I can understand going to Durham but Barnard Castle sounds too much like a jolly to me - he could just have driven down the A1 a bit and back. Why on earth would you risk being seen or being pulled up by the police say. I would not like to be seen out and about during lockdown as I would not like people to think bad of me.

 

At the end of the day his Barnard Castle jaunt and his arrogance leads me to conclude that he should resign out of respect for the feelings of others if nothing else. He surely can’t be that important to the running of this country. I am not a fan of media hounding and politics driving such issues but in this case I think resigning would be the honourable thing to do although there are no doubt many others who should have done the same.

 

I'm inclined to agree.. His "jolly" out to Barnard Castle was one p*ss take too many.

( a "test drive"?.. to make sure his eye sight is okay..and all with his wife and young child onboard?..and coincidentally, also supposedly on her birthday?..really? (lol) (lol) ).

 

 

 

 

For what it's worth I thought the session in the garden of 10 Downing St. was more or less a draw between Cummings and the Media.

 

He was able to express his contempt for the media by keeping them all waiting for half an hour, but was then unable to " clear himself " with his explanation of his actions ( with rather weak questioning from the journalists ).

 

He clearly wasn't IN a crisis, he just thought he might get into one.

I find it very difficult to believe that there is no provision for emergency child care anywhere in London - and if it's true, as an adviser to the government, has he reported this situation to the relevant department.

 

He repeatedly referred his concern for the health of his son ( quite understandable, and no one would criticise him for it ) and yet when he was concerned about his ability to drive his car SAFELY in Durham, he took his young son with him on a test drive.

( I don't think many dads would have done that ).

 

Not sure if his wife can drive as I don't think anyone asked that question.

 

I don't normally watch the evening briefings, but I was struck last night by the fact that someone appears to have advised Boris Johnson to brush his hair before he appeared - hopefully this may be a signal that he could be dropping the image of a lovable dishevelled schoolboy that he likes to portray, which does nothing to help his credibility with ( I'm guessing ) quite a few people.

 

Can't say I really care much now whether Cummings stays or goes - there are far more serious things to thing about.

 

 

:-|

[StuartO]

Barryd999 - 2020-05 .....More nonsense. Firstly you have no idea what others have been doing to help during the lock down. Cummings and Johnson have not exactly shone throughout this have they. As a result of their incompetence in not locking down early enough we have the worst death rates in the world according to a chart I saw today. Cummings reckons he wasnt involved with the herd immunity nonsense, the take it on the chin bollox and all that but it has his name written all over it. You weren't one of these new baby Tory first time voters were you as you certainly sound like one.

 

I’m sorry that you can’t make sense of what I posted, it’s quite a problem for you, not being able to understand other people.

[John52]

malc d - 2020-05-26 2:59 PM

 

rather weak questioning from the journalists

 

Who selected them *-)

[John52]

malc d - 2020-05-26 2:59 PM

 

 

Can't say I really care much now whether Cummings stays or goes - there are far more serious things to thing about.

 

 

:-|

 

Like Government Credibility perhaps *-)

[John52]

StuartO - 2020-05-26 3:01 PM

 

Barryd999 - 2020-05 .....More nonsense. Firstly you have no idea what others have been doing to help during the lock down. Cummings and Johnson have not exactly shone throughout this have they. As a result of their incompetence in not locking down early enough we have the worst death rates in the world according to a chart I saw today. Cummings reckons he wasnt involved with the herd immunity nonsense, the take it on the chin bollox and all that but it has his name written all over it. You weren't one of these new baby Tory first time voters were you as you certainly sound like one.

 

I’m sorry that you can’t make sense of what I posted, it’s quite a problem for you, not being able to understand other people.

 

I can understand it

But can't make sense of it :-S