LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s closest aide refused to resign on Monday, saying he had done nothing wrong by driving 250 miles from London to access childcare when Britons were being told to stay at home to fight COVID-19.
Dominic Cummings has faced calls to quit from lawmakers, Church of England bishops, police officers and scientists over his trip to County Durham, northern England, which they said had damaged citizens’ trust in public health messaging.
“I did what I thought was the right thing to do,” Cummings said during an extraordinary televised grilling in the rose garden at 10 Downing Street, Johnson’s official residence.
“No, I have not offered to resign. No, I have not considered it,” Cummings said.
Johnson’s decision to stand by a man on whom he depends as his main strategist has led to his own judgment being questioned, with critics saying the episode signals that the normal rules do not apply to the people in charge.
“I do regret the confusion and the anger and the pain that people feel … That’s why I wanted people to understand exactly what had happened,” Johnson told a later news conference. “I do not believe that anybody in Number 10 has done anythi