Coronavirus: Cummings row 'undermines trust in government and more people will die' - scientist

A scientist who has been advising the government during the coronavirus crisis has said the row over Dominic Cummings has undermined efforts to fight the pandemic - and "more people are going to die" as a result.

The comments by Professor Stephen Reicher, a member of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Behaviours (SPI-B), came after Boris Johnson backed Mr Cummings' decision to travel 260 miles to his parents' house in the North East during lockdown.

SPI-B feeds analysis and advice to the scientists on the government's emergency panel SAGE (Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies).

Prof Reicher told Good Morning Britain: "If you look at the research it shows the reason why people observed lockdown was not for themselves, it wasn't because they were personally at risk, they did it for the community, they did it because of a sense of 'we're all in this together'.

"If you give the impression there's one rule for them and one rule for us, you fatally undermine that sense of 'we're all in this together' and you undermine adherence to the forms of behaviour which have got us through this crisis."

He added: "The real issue here is that because of these actions, because of undermining trust in the government, because of undermining adherence to the rules that we all need to follow, people are going to die.

"More people are going to die."

Mr Johnson said on Sunday that Mr Cummings acted "responsibly, legally and with integrity" after his chief adviser admitted travelling to Durham for childcare support after his wife displayed coronavirus symptoms.

Following Mr Johnson's comments, Prof Reicher wrote on Twitter: "As one of those involved in SPI-B, the government advisory group on behavioural science, I can say that in a few short minutes tonight, Boris Johnson has trashed all the advice we have given on how to build trust and secure adherence to the measures necessary to control COVID-19.

"Be open and honest, we said. Trashed. Respect the public, we said. Trashed. Ensure equity, so everyone is treated the same, we said. Trashed. Be consistent we said. Trashed. Make clear 'we are all in it together'. Trashed."

He added: "It is very hard to provide scientific advice to a government which doesn't want to listen to science. I hope, however, that the public will read our papers (publicly available) and continue to make up for this bad government with their own good sense."

Two other SPI-B members and health psychologists - University College of London professors Robert West and Susan Michie - backed the comments.

Prof West said it was imperative the public did not abandon social distancing despite the exceptions made for the PM's chief aide.

"The key thing we need to remember is that the reason for the lockdown is not for the sake of people like Dominic Cummings or the prime minister, it is for our friends and families' sake so the rules are really, really important," he said.

Prof Michie called for Professor Chris Whitty, England's chief medical officer, to give his own briefings independently from the cabinet in the future.

She wrote: "I hope that @CMO_England @uksciencechief & colleagues will in future give their own scientific briefings to the British public unencumbered by distrust of @BorisJohnson & co. Never thought I'd say this but don't want science to be dragged down by association with dishonesty."

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The row over Mr Cummings' trip in late March erupted on Friday evening following two newspaper investigations. Calls for Mr Cummings' resignation have mounted over the weekend.

Number 10 said the aide travelled to be near his family in the North East, as he feared there would be no one to look after his four-year-old son if he and his wife became ill with coronavirus at the same time.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson told Sky News on Monday Mr Cummings made "absolutely clear" to the prime minister that "at no stage did he break the law or break the rules" and Mr Johnson "agreed with the assessment".