NON-APOLOGY

Boris Johnson’s Chief Aide: ‘I Don’t Regret’ Driving Across England During Lockdown

Dominic Cummings is in the midst of a scandal after he drove across England to his family’s property while the rest of the nation was advised to stay at home.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s chief adviser Dominic Cummings on Monday asserted that he has no regrets after driving across England during the nationwide lockdown last month. “I do not regret what I did,” Cummings said in a speech in the Downing Street garden, acknowledging that “reasonable people may well disagree.” Johnson faced fierce backlash from his own party after he defended his top aide in the midst of a scandal over accusations that he flouted lockdown rules. The prime minister said he believes that his adviser “acted responsibly and legally and with integrity” in driving 260 miles across the country to stay at his parents’ property as the rest of the nation was advised to stay home. Johnson is under mounting pressure to dismiss Cummings, a staunch Conservative who is regarded as the mastermind behind Brexit. Cummings said that his four-year-old son had been hospitalized with a “bad fever” in Durham where his family lived, but tested negative for the coronavirus. “The legal rules do not cover all circumstances,” he continued, “I think the rules allowed me to exercise my judgement.”