Boris Johnson has refused to answer questions over Dominic Cummings’ unpaid council tax bill during Prime Minister’s Questions.
The prime minister sidestepped a question by City of Durham’s Mary Foy over allegations that Cummings had dodged a £50,000 council tax bill on buildings he failed to register with the local authority.
The Labour MP said Cummings had “fatally undermined” public health messaging and had “short-changed” her constituency of an “unpaid council tax bill of up to £50,000” on premises that were built without authorisation from the local council.
“Will the PM condemn this continued flouting of the rules, or does he have a blind spot even a trip to Barnard Castle can’t fix?” asked Foy.
Cummings broke coronavirus regulations earlier this year to travel with his wife and young child to Durham County from London at the height of lockdown. He and his wife were ill with the coronavirus at the time and had travelled to Durham to seek childcare assistance.
Days later, the prime minister’s adviser was spotted driving to Barnard Castle – a trip he claimed to have made to “test his eyesight” following his recovery from the virus.
Critics have argued the senior adviser’s actions seriously undermined public compliance with lockdown regulations.
MORE: Court rejects case against Dominic Cummings’ lockdown breach
Replying, Johnson said: “I think what has possibly undermined people’s confidence and understanding in what the government is trying to do is constant political point-scoring and attempts to obscure what we’re trying to do by the Labour
“I think the best thing is to advise her constituents what to do to follow the guidance, to get the virus down and to do it together.”
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