Boris Johnson eases UK coronavirus lockdown but row over adviser Dominic Cummings continues

Anger over the chief adviser’s decision to drive from London to Durham continues, amid reports Cummings could quit later this year

Johnson hoped to move the debate away from the controversy and set out how parts of the UK will reopen, with gatherings of up to six allowed outdoors

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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks during a coronavirus media briefing. The row over his chief adviser continues to dominate political debate in the country. Photo: DPA

Published: 2:25pm, 29 May 2020Updated: 9:47pm, 29 May 2020

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson tried to move on from the controversy over his top aide’s behaviour, announcing the UK’s lockdown will be eased to allow small gatherings in parks and private gardens.

The premier has spent the week fighting off questions over the behaviour of Dominic Cummings, his chief adviser, after police said he may have broken coronavirus regulations.

Johnson used a set-piece news conference to announce the next stage in the government’s lifting of the restrictions he imposed two months ago – opening shops, some schools, and allowing as many as six people from different households to meet outdoors in parks and private gardens from June 1. This would enable individuals to hold barbecues and garden parties but people must still keep to social distancing rules and stay two metres apart.

Dominic Cummings, top aide to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, is seen outside his London home. Photo: AP

But the past week of political and public anger over his chief adviser’s decision to move 260 miles from London to Durham at the peak of the pandemic continued to dominate political events. Johnson faced another barrage of questions over his handling of the issue, and intervened to stop his two most senior pandemic advisers from responding.

Police investigating Cummings concluded he may have breached his own government’s coronavirus regulations when he drove 26 miles with his wife and son on April 12 to a local beauty spot. If officers had caught him at the time, they would have intervened, Durham Constabulary said in a statement, but there was no apparent breaking of social distancing rules.