Sky News doorstep Cummings’s parents

On Monday evening, Dominic Cummings held a press conference in the Downing Street Rose Garden to try and explain why he had travelled the 250 miles to Durham from London during the lockdown.

The senior adviser also explained why he had kept his location in Durham a secret at the time. Cummings said that he and his family had received threats made against them and unpleasant media attention at their London home, and did not wish for his family in Durham to receive the same treatment.

On this, it appears he may have had a point. Yesterday evening, following the press conference, Sky News took the unusual decision to dispatch their Scotland Bureau Chief, James Matthews, to doorstep Dominic Cummings’s parents at their family home in Durham. The reporter was filmed outside the couple’s house, and attempted to speak to them through the intercom. Doorstepping is usually reserved for political figures who are not available for interview – a way of speaking truth to power.