Protesters stage coronavirus 'die-in' outside Dominic Cummings' house
A small number of campaigners have staged a ‘die-in’ outside Dominic Cummings’ home in protest of the government’s response to the coronavirus crisis.
About 20 activists lay in the road two weeks after the chief aide was accused of breaking lockdown by travelling 260 miles from London to Durham and making a second trip to Durham Castle to ‘test his eyesight’.
One sign at the event accused the political strategist of being a ‘lying hypocrite’, while another read ‘Over 50,000 dead while you’re playing king of the castle’.
The group said they took action to demand the prime minister sack Mr Cummings and implement a strategy to tackling the pandemic based on World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations.
They are also calling on Public Health England to publish the ‘full findings’ of a review that confirmed BAME people were ‘at much greater risk’ of dying from coronavirus than white people.
The protesters – who said they were joined by 15 of Mr Cummings’ neighbours – were dispersed by Metropolitan Police in about 30 minutes with no arrests made.
However, more demonstrations are planned for the future, with one activist saying Mr Johnson’s advice to ‘move on’ from the scandal was ‘insulting’.
Sita Bilani, who was unable to attend her aunt’s funeral due to restrictions, said: ‘The lack of remorse, not just for Cummings’ disregard for the rules but for the thousands of preventable deaths is a disgrace.’
Mr Cumming insisted he had acted ‘lawfully and reasonably’ at all times and had no regrets In an unprecedented press conference in the Rose Garden at Downing Street in May
The chief adviser also claimed his home in London had become a ‘target for harassment’ during the hour-long conference.
He said: ‘I did not make my movements public at the time, because my London home was already a target
‘I did not believe I was obliged to make my parents’ home and my sister’s home a target for harassment as well.’
It comes after a YouGov poll claims one in five Brits are now following lockdown rules less strictly than before – with a third of those saying Mr Cummings’ behaviour was a factor in that change.
One sign at the event accused the political strategist of being a ‘lying hypocrite’, while another read ‘Over 50,000 dead while you’re playing king of the castle’.
The group said they took action to demand the prime minister sack Mr Cummings and implement a strategy to tackling the pandemic based on World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations.
They are also calling on Public Health England to publish the ‘full findings’ of a review that confirmed BAME people were ‘at much greater risk’ of dying from coronavirus than white people.
The protesters – who said they were joined by 15 of Mr Cummings’ neighbours – were dispersed by Metropolitan Police in about 30 minutes with no arrests made.
However, more demonstrations are planned for the future, with one activist saying Mr Johnson’s advice to ‘move on’ from the scandal was ‘insulting’.
Sita Bilani, who was unable to attend her aunt’s funeral due to restrictions, said: ‘The lack of remorse, not just for Cummings’ disregard for the rules but for the thousands of preventable deaths is a disgrace.’
Mr Cumming insisted he had acted ‘lawfully and reasonably’ at all times and had no regrets In an unprecedented press conference in the Rose Garden at Downing Street in May
The chief adviser also claimed his home in London had become a ‘target for harassment’ during the hour-long conference.
He said: ‘I did not make my movements public at the time, because my London home was already a target
‘I did not believe I was obliged to make my parents’ home and my sister’s home a target for harassment as well.’
It comes after a YouGov poll claims one in five Brits are now following lockdown rules less strictly than before – with a third of those saying Mr Cummings’ behaviour was a factor in that change.