Dominic Cummings, special advisor for Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson, answers questions from the media after making a statement at 10 Downing Street, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), London, Britain, May 25, 2020. Jonathan Brady/Pool via REUTERS
LONDON (Reuters) – The British government said on Wednesday that it was time to move on after Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s senior adviser provoked outrage and widespread scorn by making a 400 km (250 mile) road trip during the coronavirus lockdown.
Dominic Cummings has refused to quit after it was revealed that he had driven from London to northern England in March with his 4-year-old son and his wife, who was sick at the time, to be close to relatives. Johnson has backed his adviser.
“Now I think is the time for us all to move on,” Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick told the BBC.
“That’s not to say this isn’t an important issue or that people don’t care a great deal about it but I think there is a lot more that we need to focus on now, like the virus and the economy.”
Jenrick said there would be no official review of fines imposed on ordinary people who had travelled with their family during the lockdown.
Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge and Kate Holton, editing by Estelle Shirbon