Bishops turn on Boris Johnson for defending his chief aide, Dominic Cummings
Church of England bishops have fired a volley of unprecedented criticism at Boris Johnson over his defence of actions taken by his chief aide, Dominic Cummings. One suggested the church could decline to work with the government during the coronavirus crisis “unless we see clear repentance, including the sacking of Cummings”.
More than a dozen bishops questioned the integrity of the prime minister following his press conference on Sunday, in which he refused to acknowledge that Cummings had breached lockdown rules when he travelled with his infected wife and their child to Durham.
The bishops said Johnson’s defence was “risible”, that he had “no respect for the people”, “lacked integrity”, and risked undermining the trust of the public. Pete Broadbent, the bishop of Willesden, tweeted: “Johnson has now gone the full Trump.”
The first bishop to go public in criticising the prime minister was Nick Baines, the bishop of Leeds, who told the Observer: “People across the country have sacrificed hugely in order to obey both the spirit and word of government advice. People have missed being with family members who have died. But, now we learn that there is one rule for the people and another for No 10 and the elite.” [Continue reading…]