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Thursday, Jul 10, 2025

PM told to prove Dominic Cummings didn't make second lockdown trip

PM told to prove Dominic Cummings didn't make second lockdown trip

Boris Johnson is facing pressure to prove that Dominic Cummings did not make a second trip to Durham during lockdown.

Labour urged No 10 to ‘set the record straight’ after two people came forward with claims they saw the PM’s chief aide walking in Houghall Woods, in the outskirts of Durham, in north-east England, on April 19.

Mr Cummings already admitted to being in the area on April 12 to visit Barnard Castle, memorably telling a press conference in the Downing Street rose garden he did so to ‘test his eyesight’.

Dave and Clare Edwards accused Durham police of failing to adequately investigate their claims against Mr Cummings, subsequently making a complaint to the police watchdog.

Mr Cummings said the witnesses who reported seeing him on April 12 were mistaken.

However, Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner said Mr Cummings’ word wasn’t good enough.

She said: ‘The public have a right to know whether the Prime Minister’s chief adviser made a second lockdown-breaching trip to Durham, and it is surely therefore only right that this evidence is produced.

‘If Dominic Cummings was in London during both the morning and afternoon of the April 19, and not in Durham as has been alleged, I’m sure that he the Prime Minister will welcome this opportunity to set the record straight.’

Dominic Cummings in the rose garden of Downing Street (Picture: AFP)


Dominic Cummings visited Barnard Castle to ‘test his eyesight’ before driving back to London (Picture: Reuters)



A spokeswoman for the Independent Office for Police Conduct said: ‘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.’

Durham Constabulary said there was ‘insufficient evidence’ to support the allegation.

Britons overwhelmingly condemned Mr Cummings’ lockdown trip to Durham, with 71% of respondents in a May 26 YouGov poll believing the chief aide broke government regulations. An University College London analysis also found the trip severely hampered the public’s willingness to stick to lockdown.

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