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Dominic Cummings row: Couple who claim they spotted PM's advisor on second Durham trip 'file complaint with police watchdog'

PA
PA

A couple who claim to have spotted Dominic Cummings on a second lockdown visit to the North East have filed a complaint to the police watchdog over the conduct of Durham Constabulary.

The Prime Minister’s chief advisor became the subject of intense scrutiny after it emerged in late May that, at the height of the UK lockdown and while his wife was showing coronavirus symptoms, he had made a 420km drive with his family to his parents’ home in Durham.

Now Clare and Dave Edwards have come forward to claim they also saw Mr Cummings on what would have been a second trip to the area, the Daily Mirror and the Guardian reported.

They said they are "100 per cent certain" they saw the advisor walking in Houghall Woods just after 11am on April 19 — the weekend after he returned to work in London.

Mrs Edwards told the Mirror: "He had a beanie hat, was wearing glasses, he was tall and angular.

'I was so convinced. But I thought no it can’t possibly be him, he’s in London and we’re in lockdown."

Mr Edwards said: "He was the dead image of Dominic Cummings. He was standing over a small child on a bike. As I got through the clearing I said to my wife, 'Did you see Dominic Cummings there?' If it wasn’t him he would win the Dominic Cummings look-a-like award."

The couple, who insist they are not politically motivated, have said they reported the sighting to local police and gave statements on 25 May.

Dominic Cummings gave a televised appearance about the allegations (PA)
Dominic Cummings gave a televised appearance about the allegations (PA)

They have now filed an official complaint to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) about Durham Police's subsequent inquiry into their allegations.

They have also since put in a Subject Access Request in order to determine exactly how their complaint was followed up.

Durham Constabulary ultimately said they would not take "retrospective action" despite finding the adviser may have made a "minor breach" of lockdown laws.

A spokeswoman for the IOPC told the PA news agency: "In accordance with the police complaints procedure, we have forwarded a complaint to Durham Constabulary.

"It will now be a matter for the force to determine the next steps including whether this complaint merits referral to the IOPC."

​Mr Cummings previously defended his initial actions in a live televised appearance, and denied making a second trip, insisting photos and data on his phone disprove the claims.

A Number 10 spokesman dismissed the new allegation, telling MailOnline: “Durham Constabulary have made clear they are not taking any further action against Mr Cummings and that by locating himself at his father’s premises he did not breach the regulations.

“The Prime Minister has said he believes Mr Cummings behaved reasonably and he considers the matter closed.”

New analysis by University College London (UCL) concludes that Mr Cummings’ actions significantly undermined public trust in the Government's handling of the pandemic.

Published in medical journal the Lancet, the research analysed 220,000 survey results from 40,000 participants in UCL's Covid-19 social study between April 24 and June 11.

The social study was launched in the week before the UK went into lockdown on March 23, and tracks how adults are feeling about the lockdown, government advice and overall wellbeing and mental health.

Respondents were asked how much confidence they had in the Government's handling of the pandemic on a scale of one (none) to seven (a lot).

Among participants living in England, confidence dropped approximately 0.4 points on this scale between May 21 and 25.

Boris Johnson has stuck by his chief advisor (10 Downing Street/AFP via Getty)
Boris Johnson has stuck by his chief advisor (10 Downing Street/AFP via Getty)

The news broke on May 22, and UCL researchers assessed the impact of his actions by comparing the levels of confidence those living in Scotland and Wales said they had in their devolved governments.

There was no comparable drop in confidence in the leaders of Scotland and Wales over this time period.

The large scale survey also found that confidence in government in English regions did not improve in June. Adherence to lockdown, which was already starting to decline, dropped more rapidly in the weeks following May 22 - particularly in England.

Lead author Dr Daisy Fancourt, of UCL Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care said: "Public trust in the Government's ability to manage the pandemic is crucial as it underpins public attitudes and behaviours at a precarious time for public health."

She added: "Trust in government decisions and actions relating to the management of Covid-19 is a major challenge globally and these data illustrate the negative and lasting consequences that political decisions can have for public trust and the risks to behaviours."

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