SCOTTISH Conservatives continue to lie low as the row over government adviser Dominic Cummings’s 250-mile lockdown trip to Durham continues.
The Prime Minister’s top adviser held an unprecedented press conference yesterday to explain why he, his wife and young son made the journey to his parents’ farm at the end of March, while sick with Covid-19, despite guidelines on self-isolation.
READ MORE: Douglas Ross resigns as minister over Dominic Cummings row
Cummings argued he travelled to the north east from London to ensure his child could be cared for if he and his wife became particularly ill with the virus – but sparked further questions when he explained he took a 30-minute drive to tourist spot Barnard Castle on April 12 to test his eyesight before travelling all the way to London.
Dominic Cummings row continues: we asked to speak to someone from @ScotTories again this morning, including Scottish Secretary Alister Jack & Scotland Office Minister Douglas Ross. Again no-one was available.
— Gary Robertson (@BBCGaryR) May 26, 2020
We'll speak to special adviser to Number 10 @Ramsay59 #bbcgms 0705
The adviser did not apologise for making the journeys at the height of lockdown.
Aside from Douglas Ross, who resigned from the Scotland Office this morning over the story, most Scottish Tories have not spoken out about the Cummings row – despite their vocal calls for former Scottish chief medical officer Catherine Calderwood to resign after she was caught out visiting her second home in Fife back in April.
Speaking at the time, leader Jackson Carlaw said: “There cannot be one rule for bosses and another for everyone else.”
READ MORE: Jackson Carlaw’s latest attack on the Scottish Government defies belief
But this weekend, after Boris Johnson backed Cummings, Carlaw said: “I’ve heard what the Prime Minister has said and it is a situation for him to judge.
“He has reached a conclusion and we must all now focus on continuing to beat this dreadful pandemic.
“I want the Prime Minister to be able to continue his excellent work leading the country out of lockdown and I am glad he set out his plans clearly today.
READ MORE: Scottish Tories duck interview on Dominic Cummings scandal
“Here in Scotland, our focus must be on tackling the ongoing crisis in our care homes and building a robust testing and tracing system.”
This morning, BBC’s Good Morning Scotland programme contacted the Scottish Conservatives including the Scottish Secretary Alister Jack and Scotland Office minister Douglas Ross, who announced his resignation just hours later. “No-one was available,” presenter Gary Robertson tweeted.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has called for Cummings to resign or be sacked, and referred to her own experience with Calderwood in doing so.
She wrote on social media: “I know it is tough to lose a trusted adviser at the height of crisis, but when it’s a choice of that or integrity of vital public health advice, the latter must come first.”
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