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Activists stage 'die in' protest outside Dominic Cummings’ home in stand against Government's coronavirus response

PA
PA

Protesters lay down in the street outside Dominic Cummings’ house on Thursday evening in protest against the Government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Around 20 campaigners joined the "die-in" outside the aide's home, who sparked fury after it emerged on May 22 that he had driven from his London home to his parents’ farm estate in County Durham, with his wife suffering from suspected coronavirus symptoms, at the height of the lockdown.

Durham police found he might have committed a “minor breach” of the coronavirus regulations with a 52-mile round trip to the Barnard Castle beauty spot, which he said he carried out to test his eyesight before driving back to London.

Wearing masks and holding signs, the protesters were outside Mr Cummings’ property in north London for around 30 minutes.

“Over 50,000 dead while you’re playing king of the castle,” read one of the group’s signs.

Protesters wore masks and held banners (PA)
Protesters wore masks and held banners (PA)

They said the response from the street was “largely positive”, with around 15 neighbours joining them and one leading a chant of “Black Lives Matter”.

One protester, Sita Bilani, was unable to attend the funeral of her aunt, who died with Covid-19 in April, due to social distancing measures and said: “It’s insulting to hear Boris Johnson say we should ‘move on’.

“The lack of remorse, not just for Cummings’ disregard for the rules but for the thousands of preventable deaths is a disgrace.”

The protesters said they intend to build on the action and make more demonstrations on the issue.

Some 20 protesters lay in the street outside the chief adviser's home in north London (PA)
Some 20 protesters lay in the street outside the chief adviser's home in north London (PA)

The Metropolitan Police said they attended the protest and dispersed it after a “short time”, adding that no arrests were made.

Protesters said they are calling on the Government to sack Mr Cummings and implement a strategy to tackling the pandemic based on World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations.

They also called for Public Health England to publish its “full findings” of its review which this week found black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) people are at significantly higher risk of dying from Covid-19.

Two weeks ago in a press conference about his trip to Durham, Mr Cummings said his home in London has been a “target for harassment”.

Cummings arriving in Downing Street on Thursday (REUTERS)
Cummings arriving in Downing Street on Thursday (REUTERS)

“I did not make my movements public at the time, because my London home was already a target,” Mr Cummings said.

“I did not believe I was obliged to make my parents’ home and my sister’s home a target for harassment as well.”

MPs on both sides of the political divide called for Mr Cummings’ resignation over the trip, including Scotland minister Douglas Ross who quit the Government over the issue.

The storm, and Boris Johnson’s decision not to sack him despite calls to do so from a string of Tory MPs, sent approval ratings for the Government and the Prime Minister plummeting.