So if both Dominc and his wife died in the night (many people have died withing a few hours of showing symptoms) the 4 year old could phone his relations in Durham and arrange for them to pick him up
It was very fortunate for the child, then, that his parents didn't die en route to Durham. Mind you, since DC said he covered 30 miles in 30 minutes on ordinary roads, some of which are subject to a 30 mph speed limit, maybe he thought he could do the 250 or so miles in well under 4 hours and it was worth taking a chance. It's not like being ill or having passengers who were ill would make him slow down, is it?
Did he cover 30 miles in 30 minutes, do you know where his father's farm is it could be less than 30 miles or it could be more?
The above is the statement from Durham Police, I notice Norman Smith changed the above statement to fit the lies the BBC are repeating about the trip to London and to Barnard Castle. It is worrying that a reporter with Norman Smith's experience has to resort to lying about the statement.
The biggest problem I have seen is people believe certain newspapers and even the BBC who are using the covid-19 outbreak as a weapon to try to get rid of someone they object to by misquoting what is said. The UK has long past the time when lynch mobs could hunt down and string up their victims but these groups still have that mentality.
You make some quite serious allegations about the press and BBC here, but they cannot be treated as credible unless you provide some evidence. How did they lie or misquote? Please tell us what they said or wrote, with a link to the source, and let us read it for ourselves. Otherwise what you are saying is just hearsay, and no better than what you are complaining about in others.
The Durham Police statement of 28 May 2020 states-
“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 25 May 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.”
I recorded the BBC News on the 28th May and transcribed what Norman Smith stated just after the news of the police statement was released.
Norman Smith stated the Durham Police stated - “...but the trip to Barnard Castle was a minor breach. However they are not going to take any action, they say they record it as a minor brach of the rules and had a police officer stopped Dominic Cummings on that day because he wasn't putting social distancing or anyone else at risk the police officer would probably have said look you can't do that go home behave yourself, and there would be no further action.”
The differences may seem small, but in a high profile incident such as they even subtle differences change the meaning considerably
Finally, I repeat my question of yesterday afternoon, which you have still not answered:
And Guy - do you consider it to have been within the letter and/or spirit of the guidelines for DC to have returned to work, even though his wife was thought to have COVID-19 symptoms and he was worried that he might also have the virus?
I view the trip to Durham as legal and according to not only the Coronavirus Act 2020 but also according to the 2020 No. 250 Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) Regulations 2020.
As for the trip to Barnard Castle I view it as a sensible thing to do before driving back down to London.
I have done something very similar after an illness and I used to take drivers who's driving I was responsible for on a test drive before they could drive coaches when I was the person holding the National & International CPCs for the coach firm they worked for. The BBC like many others tried to make out it was an eyesight test but in reality it was a fitness to drive test he took.
Cheers
Guy