Conservative Yorkshire MP says Dominic Cummings' position is 'untenable' over lockdown fiasco

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A Yorkshire MP has said Dominic Cummings' position is 'untenable' as pressure is ramped up on Boris Johnson to fire his top aide.

The Prime Minister has been urged to sack Mr Cummings after reports surfaced that the 48-year-old made a two trips to County Durham, where his family lives, despite stringent social restrictions being in place.

Craig Whittaker, Conservative MP for Calder Valley in West Yorkshire, was among those to speak out and criticise Mr Johnson's right-hand man.

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He tweeted: “I totally agree that Dominic Cummings position is untenable. I’m sure he took the decision in the best interests of his family but like every decision we take we also have to take responsibility for those decisions.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson's senior aide Dominic Cummings leaves his north London home, as lockdown questions continue to bombard the Government after it emerged that he travelled to his parents' home despite coronavirus-related restrictions.Prime Minister Boris Johnson's senior aide Dominic Cummings leaves his north London home, as lockdown questions continue to bombard the Government after it emerged that he travelled to his parents' home despite coronavirus-related restrictions.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson's senior aide Dominic Cummings leaves his north London home, as lockdown questions continue to bombard the Government after it emerged that he travelled to his parents' home despite coronavirus-related restrictions. | pa

“You cannot advise the nation one thing then do the opposite.”

Join our new coronavirus Facebook group for the latest confirmed news and advice as soon as we get itBackbench Tories, including prominent 1922 Committee member Steve Baker, said Mr Cummings “must go”, but the senior Government adviser has denied the fresh allegations that he returned to Durham in April, weeks after his initial time spent self-isolating in the region.

Speaking outside his London home on Sunday, after one journalist asked if he had been back to Durham in April, Mr Cummings said: “No, I did not.”

He then made his way to Number 10.

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The PM pledged his “full support” on Saturday to his under-fire chief adviser, who it emerged had travelled 260 miles to the North East in March to self-isolate with his family while official guidelines warned against long-distance journeys.

Downing Street has said it would “not waste time” replying to the fresh allegations from “campaigning newspapers”.

But Mr Baker told Sky’s Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme: “If he doesn’t resign, we’ll just keep burning through Boris’s political capital at a rate we can ill afford in the midst of this crisis.

“It is very clear that Dominic travelled when everybody else understood Dominic’s slogans to mean ‘stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives’.”

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