Jamie Stone hits out at 'breathtaking arrogance' shown by Dominic Cummings
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North MP Jamie Stone has accused Dominic Cummings of "breathtaking arrogance" and insisted the Prime Minister's special adviser must resign.
Mr Stone was speaking tonight after Mr Cummings gave a televised statement, followed by media questions, in response to claims that he had broken lockdown rules in taking his family from London to the north-east of England when his wife displayed coronavirus symptoms.
The top aide to Boris Johnson refused to quit, apologise or admit any wrongdoing, insisting that he "behaved reasonably and tried to minimise risks".
Mr Stone, the Liberal Democrat MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, declared: "Dominic Cummings has shown breathtaking arrogance.
"He thinks he is the elite and can do what he wants and never has to say sorry. He must go."
Ian Blackford, the MP for Ross, Skye and Lochaber and the SNP's Westminster leader, was also among those calling for Mr Cummings to resign.
"This should be a resignation statement, not a PR exercise," Mr Blackford said. "It is about taking responsibility."
Mr Cummings drove to his father's farm near Durham in April with the aim of having access to relatives for childcare.
The revelations sparked national outrage that one of those most closely associated with the lockdown was seemingly able to transgress it without consequences.
Mr Cummings sought to defend his actions, saying he took all the precautions he could and was never in contact with anyone outside of his household, nor did he discuss the matter with the Prime Minister until after his departure.
He did, however, suggest that the media has misrepresented the facts and that its coverage provoked the current reaction nationwide.
After a offering a detailed summary of his movements, Mr Cummings said: "In this very complex situation I tried to exercise my judgement as best I could.
"I believe that in all circumstances I behaved legally and reasonably, balancing the safety of my family and the extreme situation in Number 10 and the public interest and effective government to which I could contribute.
"I can understand that some people will argue that I should have stayed at my home in London throughout.
"I understand these views. I know of the intense hardship and sacrifice that the entire country has had to go through. However, I respectfully disagree.
"The legal rules inevitably do not cover all circumstances, including those that I found myself in.
"I thought and I think today that the rules, including those regarding small children in extreme circumstances, allowed me to exercise my judgement about the situation I found myself in.
"I accept, of course there is room for reasonable disagreement about this."
Mr Cummings was asked to respond to concerns by experts that his actions had undermined the UK government's safety message.
He replied: "I think that they are right to be worried – the coverage of the last couple of days could encourage people to behave in certain ways. But, with great respect to them, they made those comments without knowing what had actually happened."
Asked if he would leave if the controversy continued to impact on the government, with a number of MPs calling for his resignation, he said it was up to the Prime Minister.
"I am here to do the best I can for the government and change the country for the better. I am not saying I know I am right. I am saying this is why I did it at the time," he said.
Mr Blackford said: "When Catherine Calderwood [Scotland's former chief medical officer] apologised [for travelling to her second home] she recognised it wasn't enough and resigned to protect confidence in the public health message.
"Failing to resign would not only be hypocrisy but far more importantly it would damage the public health message and could ultimately put lives at risk.
"Putting on a show must not be used to prevent the Prime Minister answering questions or divert attention from his responsibility to sack Mr Cummings."
Earlier, Mr Stone had written to the Prime Minister saying many of his constituents were furious about the actions of Mr Cummings, and about Mr Johnson's decision to retain him as senior adviser.
"I am proud of how my constituents, and the British public as a whole, have come together in this crisis," Mr Stone wrote.
"They have made their sacrifices willingly, they have supported their neighbours and reached out to those in need. They trusted the Scottish Government and your government to lead our country out of this difficult time, and they were determined to play their part.
"The events of this weekend are a huge betrayal to every one of us who stayed home."
He added: "I am fearful that your decision to retain Dominic Cummings as your adviser, despite his decision to travel to his parents when he, or his wife, had coronavirus symptoms, will encourage other people to think that it is acceptable to break the lockdown restrictions."
