Tories dismiss ‘political point-scoring’ over Dominic Cummings and insist his 265-mile trip was within guidelines

What a wild 24 hour it has been in the world of British politics.

If you’re sipping a coffee and wondering what we’re on about, of course we’re talking about all the drama surrounding Boris Johnson’s adviser Dominic Cummings.

So what's all the fuss about?

To cut a long story short, a joint investigation by the Guardianand the Mirroris alleging that Boris Johnson’s senior adviser Dominic Cummings, the mastermind behind the Brexit campaign and the PM’s 2019 election victory, broke lockdown by travelling to Durham to stay with his parents. Cummings apparently made the 264-mile trip from his London home after the PM, who he was in close contact with, was diagnosed with Covid-19. Cummings also isolated with symptoms.

Cummings has admitted to being in Durham, but a statement from Downing Street says that he believes he acted legally and reasonably, as he was trying to ensure his child could be properly cared for if he got ill.

Cummings is also denying that he or his family was spoken to by police, but Durham Constabulary have said they spoke to the owner of the home he was staying in.

Following the statement, Tory ministers – who had been quiet on the matter – are now out in force defending the adviser.

But people have noticed that some of the Tory defences of Cummings are very, very similar.

Suspiciously so, in fact.

Rishi Sunak, Michael Gove and Dominic Raab pretty much said the exact same thing (and even quote-tweeted the exact same tweet).

Sunak and Raab pushed back on people trying to score “political points” over the row, while Gove said that it isn't a "crime" to care about your wife and child.

It’s now been claimed there’s WhatsApp groups where MPs are being coached on how to hold the same message and "hold the line", which seems like it is working.

The strong support from senior Tories will no doubt be a political lifeline for Cummings.

But it's probably going to take more than a few tweets to convince people that he was following the same lockdown guidelines as the majority of Brits, given the sacrifices everyone has been making.