Prue Leith backs Tory MP son and calls for 'kindness and tolerance' to Dominic Cummings
Prue Leith has defended Dominic Cummings’ decision to travel 260 miles to his parents’ house despite coronavirus lockdown restrictions.
The Great British Bake Off star shared a tweet by her son, Conservative MP Danny Kruger, in which he backed Boris Johnson’s top adviser, adding: “How about a bit of kindness and tolerance”.
Cummings is facing calls to resign after it emerged he travelled from London to Durham with his wife and children despite self-isolating.
The prime minister has pledged his “full support” to his chief adviser, backed by several Cabinet members, but several Tory MPs are calling for Cummings to resign.
Well said, Danny. How about a bit of kindness and tolerance? https://t.co/TLn7R0YRl4
— Prue Leith (@PrueLeith) May 24, 2020
Leith, famed for her role on Channel 4’s Great British Bake Off, shared a tweet from Kruger, her son and also Conservative MP for Devizes, that had originally been posted on Saturday morning, in which he defend Cummings’ journey.
He wrote: “Dom and Mary’s journey was necessary and therefore within rules.
“What’s also necessary is not attacking a man and his family for decisions taken at a time of great stress and worry, the fear or death and concern for a child.”
His mother - who in 2017 famously accidentally revealed the winner of Bake Off on Twitter hours before the final aired due to a mis-timed tweet - wrote: “Well said, Danny”, before adding her call for kindness and tolerance.
Her support sparked a flurry of angry responses from Twitter users, including one who shared the government’s previous strict lockdown instructions in place at the time of Cummings’ journey, saying: “If you can follow a recipe, you should understand this.”
If you can follow a recipe, you should understand this: pic.twitter.com/MWTtZ2sO3V
— Monsignor it's all Corbyn's fault. (@ItCorbyn) May 24, 2020
Others referred to the fact that they had followed the government’s rules, accusing Cummings of hypocrisy.
Many pointed out that they hadn’t seen family members for ten weeks because they were keen to following the rules, and suggested that they had not been shown the same kindness as Leith was calling for for Cummings.
Hi Prue, I haven’t seen my family in ten weeks plus because I’ve been following the guidelines + laws and assumed at least the gov were doing the same. Where is Dominic Cummings’ kindness for us, who haven’t just taken it upon ourselves to interpret the rules as we please.
— Mollie Goodfellow (@hansmollman) May 24, 2020
Exactly. That’s exactly what people have been doing for months - being kind and sacrificing their own feelings for the good of the NHS and the country. All we want is for the people in charge to show a bit of kindness and thought towards us too
— Sian Harries (@sianharries_) May 24, 2020
Dear Prue, I have MS and my husband has severe asthma. Our daughter hasn’t seen her 90 year old grandpa since we all started to sTay at home in late February. We have been following the guidelines and more. I don’t see any kindness or leniency towards us.
— harriet connides (@ceeforina) May 24, 2020
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