Keir Starmer: Dominic Cummings broke the rules - Boris Johnson must end this farce and put UK first

Let’s begin with something Boris Johnson can’t bring himself to say but the rest of us know: Dominic Cummings broke the rules.

It is as simple as that.

His actions were an insult to the millions of people across Britain who have sacrificed so much during this pandemic.

In recent months, families have been forced to make the most agonising of decisions.

People have been unable to see loved ones. Grandparents have been denied the chance to hold newborn grandchildren.

Some of the most vulnerable in society have had to isolate alone.

In the most tragic circumstances, people haven’t been able to say goodbye at the funerals of friends or loved ones. 

The lockdown has been difficult for us all. There is no denying that.

We miss each other. But, people have obeyed the rules because they understand the importance of our shared common goal; our national purpose. Stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives.

That’s why, when the revelations about Dominic Cummings’ behaviour broke over the weekend, people were angry.

And during the endless hours of press conferences over the Bank Holiday weekend, people were looking for an apology, a resignation or a plausible explanation from Boris Johnson and Dominic Cummings about what happened.

None was forthcoming. 

Instead, we got a very simple message: it is one rule for them, another rule for everybody else.

I share people’s frustrations, not just because of the actions of one adviser, but because this has become a national distraction at a moment of national crisis.

This was the week when we should have been talking about how we ease the lockdown safely. How we restart our economy, support businesses, get more children back to school.

Instead, the Prime Minister’s unwillingness or inability to do the right thing has left the Government looking untrustworthy, unprincipled.

And worst of all they have undermined the very public health advice that is necessary to keep us all safe, just to keep one powerful aide in his job.

In times like this, we need good government.

A government that we can trust. A government that is entirely focused on saving lives.

So, I say to the Prime Minister: we cannot go on like this. We cannot lose another week to this farce. We need to get back on track.

When I was elected leader of the Labour Party, I made a promise to the British people.

That I would work constructively with the Government. Challenging them when I thought mistakes were being made, offering my support when that was the right thing to do. I stand by that promise.

That is why I will work constructively with the Government to help us through the next phase of this pandemic.

The Prime Minister has promised a ‘world-beating’ test, track and trace system, when in fact what most people are looking for is a system that will work and will keep them safe.

For Labour, that means rapidly increasing the amount of testing to at least a quarter of a million a day.

It means recruiting an army of over 50,000 so-called ‘contract tracers’.

And it means a nationwide phone app up and running by the 1 June, as we were previously promised.

For the British people, it also means providing reassurance at time of huge anxiety.

If you or a family member have symptoms, or you have been told to go into isolation, you want to know as soon as possible whether you have got this awful virus.

No one should have to wait longer than is necessary for a test result. 

That’s why I am calling on the Prime Minister to introduce a ‘COVID Test Guarantee.’

A double-lock that no one will have to wait more than 24 hours to receive a test and then to receive the results.

This will not only build public confidence in the Government’s approach, but it will also ensure we have a system in place that is putting people’s livelihoods first.

All these things are within the Government’s powers.

After a week when the Prime Minister has taken his eye off the ball, it is now time to focus on the task at hand. And to put the nation’s health first.