Mayor Andy Street does not think Dominic Cummings acted within 'spirit of the law'

The Mayor of the West Midlands has said he does not think Dominic Cummings acted in the "spirit of the law" after driving to Durham during the coronavirus lockdown.

Andy Street said even though there may be a defence that parts of what he had done were within the letter of the law – but as far as he was concerned it was not within the spirit of law.

But he refused to answer whether or not Mr Cummings would still have a job if he had been an employee of his.

The Prime Minister’s senior advisor Mr Cummings hit the headlines over the weekend when it was reported he had driven from London to family in Durham with his wife Mary Wakefield and son during lockdown.

Both he and his wife Mary Wakefield developed Covid-19 symptoms and said they wanted to ensure their four-year-old boy would be looked after should they fall ill.

But the revelations sparked outrage with many people across the country, including almost 40 Conservative MPs, calling for Mr Cummings to be sacked or resign. Boris Johnson and senior cabinet members have all come out in support of him.

Speaking at the West Midlands Combined Authority briefing on Friday afternoon, Mr Street said: "I made my opinion on this [Dominic Cummings] on Tuesday morning, I said as far as I was concerned, even though there may be a defence that parts of what Dominic Cummings had done was within the letter of the law, and indeed we have now heard that Durham Police are not following up one element of it.

"As far as I was concerned, it was not in the spirit of the law. I think all I will say is if I had been responding to that I would follow up that.

"I said it was necessary that both Dominic Cummings and the Prime Minister, and indeed the police in this case, all three are the ones that can act on this and they have all made their conclusions very clear."

But he refused to comment when asked if Dominic Cummings had been an employee of his whether he would still be employed. Mr Street added: "Whether you asked me about Dominic Cummings or anyone else, I would not decide on their employment prospectus without knowing in a great deal of detail which I would have looked at myself, not through the lens of the media. So I am not going to answer that question.

"But I did say very clearly those who should have looked at this should have followed it up in terms of the spirit of the law."

Asked on her opinion of what Dominic Cummings had done, Dr Sue Ibbotson, West Midlands centre director for Public Health England, said: "At the end of the day, everyone has to make their own decisions – but the guidance is clear and as Andy has said, going forward we will rely on everybody being able to play their part to help us control the spread of the virus."