Yahoo News 'What planet are they on?': Newspaper front pages attack Boris Johnson and Dominic Cummings
Boris Johnson and Dominic Cummings were given a savaging by most of the newspaper front pages on Monday.
The prime minister was criticised for defending his senior adviser even though Cummings travelled 260 miles from London to Durham during the coronavirus lockdown.
On Sunday, Johnson said Cummings had “acted responsibly and with integrity” when leaving London over concerns he and his wife would be unable to care for their son.
But the PM’s comments have drawn criticism from scientists, as well as Church of England bishops, amid sustained calls for Cummings to resign.
Monday’s newspapers made uncomfortable reading for Downing Street, with even the usually loyal Daily Mail going on the offensive.
Its front page asked of Johnson and Cummings: “What planet are they on?”
The paper said this was the question being asked by Britons of the "No 10 svengali who flouted the PM's own strict lockdown rules", and the prime minister who "brazenly" supported him.
In a front-page editorial, the Mail demanded Cummings should resign or Johnson should sack him after it said the adviser violated "the spirit and the letter" of the lockdown, which "has given every selfish person a licence to play fast and loose with public health".
The editorial reads: “Boris Johnson says he 'totally gets' how the public feel about this. Clearly, he doesn't.
"Neither man has displayed a scintilla of contrition for this breach of trust. Do they think we are fools?"
The Daily Mirror, which, along with The Guardian, has reported on claims of further lockdown breaches by Cummings, labelled him and Johnson as "a cheat and a coward" respectively.
It called Cummings a "law unto himself" and said the prime minister has been "scared to act" over him.
Mirror columnist Kevin Maguire wrote: ”Terrified of Dominic Cummings, cowardly Boris Johnson is a dog wagged by its tail.
"Cummings knows where the bodies are buried and Johnson knows the hired help has interred the corpses of many rivals.
"No way will a man David Cameron condemned as a 'career psychopath' walk away quietly."
The Guardian says Johnson has “staked his political reputation on saving the career of Dominic Cummings".
The paper comes down hard against the Johnson-Cummings pairing in its editorial, saying: "In one regard only [the government's] position is now clearer: as long as Mr Cummings remains in place, it is saying that lockdown is for the little people.
“And as long as it treats the public with contempt it can expect that contempt to be returned."
The Daily Telegraph, The Sun and the Daily Express ran straight-laced front-page leads on Johnson backing his adviser.
But the Telegraph's editorial was more critical. It attacked the government for its apparent double-standard over lockdown rules, expressed concern over the power Cummings wields, and suggested his removal should not be out of the question.
"There is more to this affair than allegations of hypocrisy in high places," the editorial said.
"Mr Cummings has become a divisive and distracting figure in the government just at the point where unity of purpose is an absolute requirement."
However, The Times backed both men, saying “Mr Johnson has a government to run and a public health crisis to defuse”.
It added: “He should be allowed to get on with it.”
Coronavirus: what happened today
Click here to sign up to the latest news, advice and information with our daily Catch-up newsletter
Read more about COVID-19
How to get a coronavirus test if you have symptoms
What you can and can’t do under lockdown rules
In pictures: How UK school classrooms could look in new normal
How public transport could look after lockdown
How our public spaces will change in the future
Help and advice
Read the full list of official FAQs here
10 tips from the NHS to help deal with anxiety
What to do if you think you have symptoms
How to get help if you've been furloughed
