Questions on Boris Johnson’s handling of pandemic go far beyond Dominic Cummings saga: The Yorkshire Post says

Mr Johnson’s handling of the saga surrounding his chief adviser Dominic Cummings has, according to one poll, seen his approval rating among the public drop by 20 points in days. There has also been open rebellion from dozens of Conservative MPs. As Junior Minister Douglas Ross unanswerably put it in his resignation letter: “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.”

While Mr Johnson will undoubtedly face tough questions about his decision to not only back Mr Cummings but to actively praise his adviser’s “integrity” in taking decisions that other families in similar situations would not have dreamt of doing, it is vital members of the liaison committee focus on the bigger picture.

The UK’s coronavirus death toll has now passed 47,000 according to Office for National Statistics data; the worst figure in Europe.

Mr Johnson must be pressed on how that has been allowed to happen. Mr Cummings admitted he felt the Government had made mistakes in its handling of the pandemic, while Liaison Committee chair Bernard Jenkin noted last week that Covid-19 had led to a centralisation of power unusual in peacetime which makes the PM “more personally accountable than usual”. It is time for that accountability to be demonstrated.

Editor’s note: first and foremost - and rarely have I written down these words with more sincerity - I hope this finds you well.

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James Mitchinson

Editor