The dilemma at the heart of the Cummings controversy

Dominic Cummings isn’t resigning – or, at least, not by choice. That much is crystal clear from No. 10’s statement that ‘Mr Cummings believes he behaved reasonably and legally’. But it is striking that there is no endorsement from Boris Johnson or the government saying that it was appropriate for him to drive 250 miles with his spouse, who had Covid-19 symptoms, rather than quarantining for 14 days in their London home. 

So the debate about whether he should quit will rage for a bit. It seems to me, the competing arguments are these: his defence is that he was doing what all parents would do, which is trying to protect his four-year-old child in the event both parents fell seriously ill with Covid-19, by going to a place where his sister could look after his son, should the worst happen.