The sheer arrogance of Dominic Cummings breaking the lockdown rules has led to thousands virtually sticking two fingers up to government.
People across England have declared that “if Dominic Cummings can break the rules we can too” after the Prime Minister defended his 260 mile trip to Durham just eight days after the strict lockdown rules were set out by the government on 23 March.
Last night there was a furious reaction to Boris Johnson defending his controversial aide after millions of Brits have stuck with the government’s rules.
The Prime Ministers failure to condemn and sack Cummings has most certainly weakened his authority in enforcing the lockdown.
Russell Martin said on Twitter, “So are you telling us that the lockdown is now officially over and we can do whatever we like whenever we like?
“Because if Dominic Cummings can break the rules with impunity, the rest of us can too.”
Professor Stephen Reicher, who is a member of the government’s advisory group on behavioural science which feeds into SAGE, said the actions of Cummins now means the public will question the rules they have been told to follow.
He told Good Morning Britain, “If you look at the research it shows the reason why people observed lockdown was not for themselves, it wasn’t because they were personally at risk, they did it for the community, they did it because of a sense of ‘we’re all in this together’.
“If you give the impression there’s one rule for them and one rule for us you fatally undermine that sense of ‘we’re all in this together’ and you undermine adherence to the forms of behaviour which have got us through this crisis.’
He added, “The real issue here is that because of these actions, because of undermining trust in the government, because of undermining adherence to the rules that we all need to follow, people are going to die. More people are going to die.”
Senior police officers and MPs fear that Johnson’s decisions to defend Cummings will now make it very difficult to continue with the lockdown.
Mike Barton, ex-chief constable of Durham Police, told The Daily Telegraph, “How on earth are the police supposed to enforce the rules now?
“What has happened has completely holed the legislation that was introduced to keep people safe below the waterline. It is dead in the water.”
Jan Herrod, 48, a teaching assistant from Birmingham, told MailOnline, “I think this whole situation is very confusing. During the height of lockdown, Dominic Cummings travelled over 200-miles when we were meant to stay at home?
“Now the government says its ok to travel wherever you like for outdoor activities but also to stay at home?
“I’m sorry but if Dominic Cummings felt that it was ok to go from London to Durham in March, then it is absolutely fine for us to travel down for the day from Birmingham to visit the beach as unlike Mr Cummings, we are not breaking any rules.”
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