UK coronavirus live: No 10 backs Cummings after police find possible ‘minor breach’ of rules
A conflict now arises between the police and the Attorney General, Suella Braverman, according to the Secret Barrister, a junior barrister whose anonymous writings about the English and Welsh legal system enjoy a popular following.
On the one hand, Durham Police have expressed the view that Cummings did break the law while Braverman “immediately endorsed a partisan claim of no legal wrongdoing.”
Its a resigning matter for the Tory MP in the role, the barrister concludes:
The Secret Barrister (@BarristerSecret)
This, I’m afraid, is a resigning issue for @SuellaBraverman. She has, through a wholesale failure to understand her role as Attorney General, politicised an independent criminal inquiry, presupposing the outcome and embarrassing the CPS.
The number of Conservative MPs calling for Dominic Cummings to resign or criticising his behaviour in recent days has been growing, reports the Guardian’s Rowena Mason.
In one latest count, more than 80 MPs have been critical of Cummings’ actions. The list is here
NHS England has announced 185 new deaths of people who tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in England to 26,234.
Of the 185 new deaths announced on Thursday: • 29 occurred on May 27 • 73 occurred on May 26 • 19 occurred on May 25
The figures also show 54 of the new deaths took place between May 2 and May 24, and the remaining 10 deaths occurred in April with the earliest on April 10.
NHS England releases updated figures each day showing the dates of every coronavirus-related death in hospitals in England, often including previously uncounted deaths that took place several days or even weeks ago.
NHS staff at a hospital which has stopped taking new patients amid a Covid-19 spike have lodged a series of concerns including that they were not routinely being informed of when colleagues test positive for the virus.
The concerns were laid in a letter from union representatives to management at Weston General Hospital, which is now testing all staff while carrying out a deep clean. Another concern raised by UNISON was that BAME members of staff were not being prioritised for testing
The governing trust for the hospital in Somerset said on Wednesday evening that as many as 40% of staff from a cohort tested after contact with infected patients were found to be positive.
The development comes amid heightened concerns about the spread of coronavirus among NHS workers after the trust said there was “an emerging picture” of staff with no symptoms testing positive.
All staff were now being tested at the hospital, which stopped taking admissions, including into its A&E department, from 8am on Monday “to maintain patient and staff safety” as a result of a high number of infections.
UNISON South West regional secretary Joanne Kayesaid today that urgent changes were needed to reassure both staff and patients about safety.
“The biggest concern is that staff aren’t routinely being informed when their colleagues test positive for the virus.
“This means they’re unable to make informed decisions about whether they need to be tested. The trust must make sure managers tell staff at the earliest possible opportunity.
“Many of those who work at the hospital only heard about the temporary closure through social media, which is a major communications failure. They must be told directly, not pick things up second hand through friends and family.
The union expressed concern that BAME members of staff aren’t being prioritised for testing given the high levels of mortality in that grouping of staff over the course of the pandemic.
Labour leader Keir Starmer has said that Boris Johnson has “shown himself to be weak” in dealing with the Dominic Cummings situation.
In a clip on BBC Radio 4’s the World At One programme, Sir Keir said: “The most important thing here is not, you know, these technical issues, but the problem is by not dealing with Cummings in a strong way, the Prime Minister has not only shown himself to be weak, and he has shown himself to be weak – I mean he’s so desperate for this adviser he’ll cling on to him through thick and thin.”
“More importantly, what I’m worried about is that people might think ‘well,’ if Cummings doesn’t have to apply by the rules, why do I have to? Then you’re on a slippery slope.”
Starmer was also asked whether Cummings should go during a virtual Call Keir event in Doncaster, and said: “I would’ve sacked him from the outset if I’d been Prime Minister.
Commentators continue to scrutinise Durham Police’s statement. Here’s the lawyer and writer David Allen Green picking up on some of the finer detail:
david allen green (@davidallengreen)
The “might” in the statement means that the police would have “considered” that there was a breach for the exercise the 8(3)(a) power
It would not be for the police officer to determine criminal liability: that is a matter for the court
The combative health minister, Nadine Dorries, has meanwhile come out to bat for Cummings
Nadine Dorries 🇬🇧#StayAlert (@NadineDorries)
The police have made clear they are taking no action against Mr Cummings over his self-isolation and that going to Durham did not breach the regulations. Case closed.
This is Ben Quinn picking up the blog now while Lucy takes some overdue lunch.
Black, Asian or minority ethnic (BAME) nurses are more likely to have problems accessing protective equipment, according to a new poll.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) identified a “stark and deeply worrying” contrast over PPE provision for staff from different backgrounds. The union said it is “unacceptable” that BAME nurses “are less protected than other nursing staff”.
Data has emerged suggesting that people from BAME backgrounds are being disproportionately adversely affected by Covid-19, and a significant proportion of NHS workers who have died after being diagnosed with Covid-19 have BAME heritage.
The RCN conducted a poll on more than 5,000 nurses about the provision of personal protective equipment (PPE), including more than 700 from BAME backgrounds.
The union said that although there were some improvements from April, “there are still shortages of essential PPE in all settings, and health and care staff are still reliant on PPE items being donated or home-made in some cases”.
Its report states that it is “unacceptable for health and care staff to be exposed to avoidable risk to their own safety”, adding:
Our findings also highlighted a stark and deeply worrying contrast in the experience and safety of BAME respondents.
The findings include:
29% of white British nurses who responded to the poll felt pressure to care for confirmed or possible Covid-19 patients without adequate PPE – this rose to 56% for BAME nurses.
Less than half (43%) of BAME nurses said they had enough eye protection compared with 66% of white British nurses.
37% of BAME nurses who took part in the survey said they did not have enough fluid-repellent gowns to use during their shift, with only 19% white British staff reporting the same concerns.
More than half of BAME respondents (53%) also said they had been asked to re-use single-use PPE in a “high risk environment”, compared with 42% of white British respondents to the survey, which was conducted between 7-11 May.
RCN chief executive and general secretary Dame Donna Kinnair said:
It is simply unacceptable that we are in a situation where BAME nursing staff are less protected than other nursing staff.
These results reinforce our call for BAME nursing staff to have specific risk assessments to reflect the risks they face as a result of Covid-19.
All of our nursing staff must have the protection they need, and action must be taken urgently to ensure they are all kept safe. We look forward to getting more answers from Public Health England’s investigation into the disproportionate effect of Covid-19 on BAME groups.
Boris Johnson’s official spokesman told the lobby briefing that the prime minister would lead this afternoon’s daily press conference.
The spokesman said:
Subject to the fact that we need to receive the very latest advice from Sage, which I believe is meeting today, I would expect the PM to be able to set out what we are able to do from 1 June later today.
The Tory chairman of the health select committee, Jeremy Hunt, has said the government should “do whatever it takes” to ensure the new test-and-trace system works and that it was time to “move on” from the Cummings affair.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s The World At One programme, Hunt said:
Squeezing that testing turnaround down to 24 hours, which is what happens in Korea and Taiwan, is really, really important.
The big picture is that we are now implementing the system which is the best in the world, it has been proven to not just reduce death rates but also help economies to function more normally. But, within that, the tightening of these tests is absolutely critical.
Asked whether Dominic Cummings’ actions will impact how compliant people are with the new system, he said:
It is not going to help, but I think we’ve got to see the big picture here.
The big picture here is that today the government has launched a system which is international best practice, it is what has been proven to work all over the world.
So, however angry people might feel about the Dominic Cummings issues, we do now have to move on, we have to make the system work, we have to comply with the advice that we are given.
Here is the full statement issued by Durham police to say Dominic Cummings will not face further action.
On March 27 2020, Dominic Cummings drove to Durham to self-isolate in a property owned by his father.
Durham Constabulary does not consider that by locating himself at his father’s premises, Mr Cummings committed an offence contrary to regulation six of the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) Regulations 2020. (We are concerned here with breaches of the regulations, not the general Government guidance to “stay at home”.)
On April 12 2020, Mr Cummings drove approximately 26 miles from his father’s property to Barnard Castle with his wife and son. He stated on May 25 2020 that the purpose of this drive was to test his resilience to drive to London the following day, including whether his eyesight was sufficiently recovered, his period of self-isolation having ended.
Durham Constabulary have examined the circumstances surrounding the journey to Barnard Castle (including ANPR, witness evidence and a review of Mr Cummings’ press conference on May 25 2020) and have concluded that there might have been a minor breach of the regulations that would have warranted police intervention. Durham Constabulary view this as minor because there was no apparent breach of social distancing.
Had a Durham Constabulary police officer stopped Mr Cummings driving to or from Barnard Castle, the officer would have spoken to him, and, having established the facts, likely advised Mr Cummings to return to the address in Durham, providing advice on the dangers of travelling during the pandemic crisis.
Had this advice been accepted by Mr Cummings, no enforcement action would have been taken.
In line with Durham Constabulary’s general approach throughout the pandemic, there is no intention to take retrospective action in respect of the Barnard Castle incident since this would amount to treating Mr Cummings differently from other members of the public. Durham Constabulary has not taken retrospective action against any other person.
By way of further context, Durham Constabulary has followed Government guidance on management of alleged breaches of the regulations with the emphasis on the NPCC and College of Policing 4Es: Engage, Explain and Encourage before Enforcement.
Finally, commentary in the media has suggested that Mr Cummings was in Durham on April 19 2020. Mr Cummings denies this and Durham Constabulary have seen insufficient evidence to support this allegation.
Therefore Durham Constabulary will take no further action in this matter and has informed Mr Cummings of this decision.
A No 10 spokesman said:
The police have made clear they are taking no action against Mr Cummings over his self-isolation and that going to Durham did not breach the regulations. The prime minister has said he believes Mr Cummings behaved reasonably and legally given all the circumstances and he regards this issue as closed.
Announcing that she would proceed with phase one of the Scottish government’s four-stage plan for moving out of lockdown, Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, said at her daily briefing that figures showed a “sustained and unmistakable” downward trend in cases.
She added, however, that the changes must be “careful and cautious” and that the R number remains in range of 0.7 to 1.
There were 12 deaths from coronavirus in Scotland overnight, taking the total number of deaths under that measure to 2,316.
The relaxation comes as the Scottish government’s own test and protect scheme goes live on Thursday across all health board areas.
From Friday, Scots will be able to meet with members of one other household at a time. This must happen outdoors, in a park or in private gardens, and while observing social distancing, and the total number of people meeting up should be a maximum of eight. There is also a strong recommendation not to meet more than one other household per day.
People will be allowed to travel – preferably by walking or cycling – for recreation or visits, with a suggested limit of five miles, although Sturgeon has said that people should “use their judgement”. Sitting or sunbathing in parks will be permitted, as will many outdoor non-contact sports including golf, fishing, tennis and bowls.
In terms of business, most outdoor work that has been put on hold can resume. Garden centres and recycling facilities are also allowed to reopen, while takeaway and drive-through food outlets will no longer be discouraged.
From Monday, teachers can return to schools to prepare for the start of the new school year on 11 August, when pupils begin a ‘blended’ model of at home and in school learning. And from Wednesday, child minding services and fully outdoor nurseries will begin to reopen.
