Dominic Cummings has given people an excuse to break lockdown, says Liverpool Metro Mayor

26 May 2020, 16:29

Metro Mayor of Liverpool City Region told LBC that Dominic Cummings has given people an excuse to act nefariously.

People are rightly concerned that the government's "confused and mixed" message might put some people in to unnecessary danger, said Metro Mayor Steve Rotherham.

"What we need now is the government to be quite clear how it takes things forward so we can react locally to whatever guidance that might be," the Mayor said.

He told LBC there was "absolutely no doubt" in his mind that the government's public health message has been muddied after the Prime Minister defended senior aide Dominic Cummings over reportedly breaking lockdown rules.

He cited people drinking and picnicking in the park who, when challenged, said if Dominic Cummings could do it why couldn't they.

"It's given people an excuse to act nefariously if they want to because the government has been quite clear, then it became muddied, then it's even more now of a problem because of what's happened with Mr Cummings," Mr Rotherham said.

Separately, the impacts of coronavirus will be felt more in Merseyside than anywhere else in the country, Metro Mayor has claimed in a letter to the government.

In the letter, Mr Rotherham and leaders of Liverpool, Wirral, Knowsley, Sefton, St Helens and Halton councils said the region was facing the biggest challenge of the UK to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic and could face a funding gap of almost £250 million.