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26th May 2020

UK minister resigns over Dominic Cummings’ lockdown actions

Alan Loughnane

Dominic Cummings

“I cannot in good faith tell them they were all wrong and one senior adviser to the government was right.”

A government minister in the UK has resigned over Dominic Cummings’ defence of his lockdown trips.

Douglas Ross, a junior minister in the Scotland Office, said the adviser’s claim he had a valid excuse to travel during lockdown was “not shared by the vast majority of people who have done as the government asked”.

It is the first resignation on the back of the allegations swarming the UK government as the Cummings saga continues.

Cummings, Boris Johnson’s closest advisor, refused to resign from his role on Monday, saying he had done nothing wrong by driving 250 miles to northern England when he was under a lockdown to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

He also admitted on Monday that he took a second trip to a beauty spot in the town of Barnard Castle, around 45 minutes away.

He said he did not regret his actions and said he had acted responsibly and legally.

In a statement on Tuesday, Ross said: “While the intentions may have been well meaning, the reaction to this news shows that Mr Cummings interpretation of the government advice was not shared by the vast majority of people who have done as the government asked.

“I have constituents who didn’t get to say goodbye to loved ones; families who could not mourn together; people who didn’t visit sick relatives because they followed the guidance of the government.

“I cannot in good faith tell them they were all wrong and one senior adviser to the government was right.”

A spokesperson for No 10 Downing Street said: “The prime minister would like to thank Douglas Ross for his service to government and regrets his decision to stand down as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Scotland.”

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