Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #BarnardCastle
Most recents (18)
1/. In May, when we could only meet one person, the PM was drinking in the No.10 garden
When our Christmases were cancelled they we’re having parties
On 5/3/20, when the PM was saying “one theory is we could #TakeItOnTheChin” the 1st Briton died of #COVID19
(Pic @Coldwar_Steve)
When our Christmases were cancelled they we’re having parties
On 5/3/20, when the PM was saying “one theory is we could #TakeItOnTheChin” the 1st Briton died of #COVID19
(Pic @Coldwar_Steve)
2/. Around the table with @BorisJohnson are:
👉Dominic Cummings, with a glass of wine, one week before the #BarnardCastle story broke
👉Andrew Reynolds, the guy who’s investigating whether anyone in No.10 broke #COVID19 rules by attending parties
👉Carrie Symonds with the baby
👉Dominic Cummings, with a glass of wine, one week before the #BarnardCastle story broke
👉Andrew Reynolds, the guy who’s investigating whether anyone in No.10 broke #COVID19 rules by attending parties
👉Carrie Symonds with the baby
3/. “You can meet one other person from outside your household in an outdoor, public place. But please keep 2 metres apart. Please stick with the rules & don’t take risks”
@MattHancock, 15 May 2020, the same day as the #DowningStParty & 2 days after the #CareHomeScandal broke👇
@MattHancock, 15 May 2020, the same day as the #DowningStParty & 2 days after the #CareHomeScandal broke👇
"Hancock Cock Inn Cockup”
Ystdy, @MattHancock tried to get @AnnelieseDodds to withdraw a comment re his helping the ex-landlord of his local pub, the Cock Inn, to get a PPE contract
We’ve see the emails
Hancock & Lord Feldman helped 47 firms win 'VIP' contracts worth millions
Ystdy, @MattHancock tried to get @AnnelieseDodds to withdraw a comment re his helping the ex-landlord of his local pub, the Cock Inn, to get a PPE contract
We’ve see the emails
Hancock & Lord Feldman helped 47 firms win 'VIP' contracts worth millions
Ystdy, @MattHancock went on the attack claiming Alex Bourne "never got a contract from the govt" & this was a "fabrication pushed by the Labour Party"
He was lying
@NAOorguk found PPE suppliers with links to Tory MPs were 10x more likely to win contracts
He was lying
@NAOorguk found PPE suppliers with links to Tory MPs were 10x more likely to win contracts
Digging by @JolyonMaugham reveals the contract went to Alpha Laboratories
That contract stipulates that Alpha Laboratories will sub-contract the manufacturing to Hinpack Ltd, owned by Alex Bourne
This info was redacted before publishing in what seems a clear attempt to deceive!
That contract stipulates that Alpha Laboratories will sub-contract the manufacturing to Hinpack Ltd, owned by Alex Bourne
This info was redacted before publishing in what seems a clear attempt to deceive!
I cannot tell you how it felt to receive emails from medics who were carrying out emergency surgery with cling film wrapped around their heads. I cannot tell you how it felt to see eminent consultants trying to make surgical gowns out of disposal hospital curtains. I cannot...
Express the anger and dismay of doctors told to take off their masks in hospital cafes because they’d ’scare the patients’. I cannot convey the terror of doctors who didn’t have masks because there weren’t enough, they’d been locked away.
It’s not good enough to say sorry now...
It’s not good enough to say sorry now...
Gaslit, ignored, placated, ridiculed, thrown under the bus, dismissed in life, dismissed in death.
Disgusting.
I will never ever forget what you put NHS staff through. Never.
Disgusting.
I will never ever forget what you put NHS staff through. Never.
With #Cummings’ admission of what has been obvious from the start & is what me & a handful of journalists have been saying all along, it’s surely time for @peston to come clean & tell the nation who in No.10 briefed him on 12/3/20 that #HerdImmunity was the UK’s #COVID19 strategy
2/. But #Cummings’ thread raises more questions than it answers
We KNEW #HerdImmunity was the strategy & the govt didn’t “pivot away” from it
In Feb, @Dominic2306 rprtdly said the strategy was “herd immunity to protect the economy & if that means some pensioners die, too bad."
We KNEW #HerdImmunity was the strategy & the govt didn’t “pivot away” from it
In Feb, @Dominic2306 rprtdly said the strategy was “herd immunity to protect the economy & if that means some pensioners die, too bad."
3/. Every epidemiologist or virologist will tell you #HerdImmunity is an “outcome” never a “strategy”
Without a vaccine it would involve “sacrificing the vulnerable on the altar of the economy in truly vast numbers”
It was clear this “strategy” would ALSO devastate the economy.
Without a vaccine it would involve “sacrificing the vulnerable on the altar of the economy in truly vast numbers”
It was clear this “strategy” would ALSO devastate the economy.
“I think what the public wants, is for us to move on from this #BarnardCastle thing” said @BorisJohnson & his entire cabinet
What the public wanted was transparency & accountability
@maitlis deleted this tweet about @adamboultonSKY’s story
The media were largely silenced
What the public wanted was transparency & accountability
@maitlis deleted this tweet about @adamboultonSKY’s story
The media were largely silenced
By asking why #Cummings hadn’t been sacked by the PM, @maitlis was doing her job
Political journalists NOT asking this question were failing to do theirs
Cummings’ trip to Durham proved to be one of the 2 clear drop points in adherence to lockdown rules.
Political journalists NOT asking this question were failing to do theirs
Cummings’ trip to Durham proved to be one of the 2 clear drop points in adherence to lockdown rules.
“Some journalists are sitting on explosive information that should come out in real time.” @joncoopertweets
Shrinking space for journalism is something we witnessed in the UK during the Iraq War
Is it happening again now?
Would journalists be able to comment if it were?
Shrinking space for journalism is something we witnessed in the UK during the Iraq War
Is it happening again now?
Would journalists be able to comment if it were?
1/. The many emotions of Matt Hancock
REMORSE: @MattHancock realises that the deliberately late lockdown increased the #COVID death toll by at least 20,000 & that the govt’s policy of transferring people from hospitals to care homes without testing also killed tens of thousands
REMORSE: @MattHancock realises that the deliberately late lockdown increased the #COVID death toll by at least 20,000 & that the govt’s policy of transferring people from hospitals to care homes without testing also killed tens of thousands
2/. GUILT
Hancock is asked about failures with the contact tracing app, with testing, with providing PPE to frontline NHS staff, with doing checks in airports, with late introduction of masks & why he says he “didn’t know about asymptomatic transmission”!
Hancock is asked about failures with the contact tracing app, with testing, with providing PPE to frontline NHS staff, with doing checks in airports, with late introduction of masks & why he says he “didn’t know about asymptomatic transmission”!
3/. DISTRESS
@MattHancock is asked why billions of £ of #COVID19 contracts were fast-tracked to unqualified companies (including his neighbour’s) & why companies with links to #CambridgeAnalytica -
#Palantir & #FacultyAI - are running the NHS data store.
@MattHancock is asked why billions of £ of #COVID19 contracts were fast-tracked to unqualified companies (including his neighbour’s) & why companies with links to #CambridgeAnalytica -
#Palantir & #FacultyAI - are running the NHS data store.
In June, when @KayBurley asked @MattHancock why the contact tracing app was such a disaster he could hardly stop laughing
Today, when she was asking him about the six-fold increased risk of death for people with learning difficulties, he was grinning.
Today, when she was asking him about the six-fold increased risk of death for people with learning difficulties, he was grinning.
A govt minister grinning & laughing inappropriately isn’t a big deal
What’s more concerning is how unaffected ministers have remained in the face of the soaring death toll that has resulted from their #COVID19 strategy
Watch their body language, their eyes, their bullishness.
What’s more concerning is how unaffected ministers have remained in the face of the soaring death toll that has resulted from their #COVID19 strategy
Watch their body language, their eyes, their bullishness.
The only time the Cabinet seemed truly ruffled was NOT when the death toll became the highest in Europe or when the #CareHomeScandal broke or when it was revealed late lockdown had cost 20,000+ lives
It was when #Cummings’ trip to #BarnardCastle came out.
It was when #Cummings’ trip to #BarnardCastle came out.
“You must obey lockdown rules or face a £10,000 fine & I’d call the police on my neighbour, no hesitation!” says @MattHancock who publicly gave full backing to #DominicCummings when he broke lockdown rules.
You don’t see much of this #Cummings interview.
Luckily I recorded it.
You don’t see much of this #Cummings interview.
Luckily I recorded it.
Asked why he didn’t tell the truth about his movements until it was exposed by @PippaCrerar & @DailyMirror, #DominicCummings
explains:
“I thought that If I start explaining things it will cause more confusion.”
Awkward thing, the truth, isn’t it Dom!
explains:
“I thought that If I start explaining things it will cause more confusion.”
Awkward thing, the truth, isn’t it Dom!
“I did not offer to resign. I did not think about resigning.” #DominicCummings
At the time, when I watched this live, I tweeted: “This question will end #Cummings’ political career”
It should have done
It is beyond comprehension how he was permitted to just carry on as normal.
At the time, when I watched this live, I tweeted: “This question will end #Cummings’ political career”
It should have done
It is beyond comprehension how he was permitted to just carry on as normal.
“Covid Marshalls” coming to a street near you!
They won’t have any official powers but they’ll be there to keep an eye on anyone they think has broken the rules or maybe planning on breaking the rules.
Imagine the sorts of people who’ll be applying for that job. #COVID19 #COVID
They won’t have any official powers but they’ll be there to keep an eye on anyone they think has broken the rules or maybe planning on breaking the rules.
Imagine the sorts of people who’ll be applying for that job. #COVID19 #COVID
“People who think they can take responsibility for their own health and their own risk are misunderstanding the situation." @BorisJohnson explains the importance of #CovidMarshalls.
Er...try telling that to #DominicCummnings, Prime Minister
#COVID19
Er...try telling that to #DominicCummnings, Prime Minister
#COVID19
“There were two clear drop points. One of them was in May when we had the announcement of early easing of lockdown & the other one was when the news broke about #DominicCummings’ trip to Durham. And confidence never recovered.” (H/T @theonlypeterkay)
Also, reports today suggest that the Cummings scandal has made the British public more divided
ONS figures found the proportion of people who believed the nation would be united after the pandemic halved in three months
“Still boiling!” #BarnardCastle
ONS figures found the proportion of people who believed the nation would be united after the pandemic halved in three months
“Still boiling!” #BarnardCastle
“Before you judge a man, you should drive 60 miles in his Range Rover Discovery.”
#MichaelGove defends #DominicCummings decision to find out whether his eyesight was good enough to drive by driving to Barnard Castle with his wife & children.
#MichaelGove defends #DominicCummings decision to find out whether his eyesight was good enough to drive by driving to Barnard Castle with his wife & children.
It’s 3 months since something ‘shifted’ within the British media.
The warnings had been there since the start of the pandemic (see this article from 13 March👇) but, in my view, the shift happened in the aftermath of a @BBCNewsnight episode & this opening monologue by @maitlis.
The warnings had been there since the start of the pandemic (see this article from 13 March👇) but, in my view, the shift happened in the aftermath of a @BBCNewsnight episode & this opening monologue by @maitlis.
The #BarnardCastle scandal had been rumbling on for days
Cummings’ attempt to shut it down the previous day had convinced no one & Ministers kept being asked about it in every press briefing
The govt was pushing the message, “time to move on”
But the media wasn’t playing ball.
Cummings’ attempt to shut it down the previous day had convinced no one & Ministers kept being asked about it in every press briefing
The govt was pushing the message, “time to move on”
But the media wasn’t playing ball.
So the govt turned their guns on the media (Andrew Bridgen demonstrates on the same #Newsnight episode)
When he talks about “throwing Cummings to the wolves”, the wolves are the media
When he talks about fighting “the monster”, the monster is the media.
When he talks about “throwing Cummings to the wolves”, the wolves are the media
When he talks about fighting “the monster”, the monster is the media.
#PinkRainbow Clissold Park, London
Some people have suggested that last night’s sky was a sign or a portend of doom.
Personally, I don’t believe in bad omens although I did feel an icy shiver when I found out that this #PinkRainbow had one end in Westminster & the other end in County Durham...in #BarnardCastle!
Personally, I don’t believe in bad omens although I did feel an icy shiver when I found out that this #PinkRainbow had one end in Westminster & the other end in County Durham...in #BarnardCastle!
“Still boiling!”
Watching Matt Hancock’s desperate defence of #DominicCummings, the architect of govt’s #COVID19 strategy.
#BarnardCastle #BarnardCastleGate #borisjohnson #dominiccummnings #Palantir #FacultyAI #RIPtiktok #cambridgeanalytica #coronavirus
Watching Matt Hancock’s desperate defence of #DominicCummings, the architect of govt’s #COVID19 strategy.
#BarnardCastle #BarnardCastleGate #borisjohnson #dominiccummnings #Palantir #FacultyAI #RIPtiktok #cambridgeanalytica #coronavirus
#TestTrackAndTrace is being launched. I'm gathering my thoughts as to how effective it will be:
These thoughts are all my own, and whist a member of @RenewParty they do not necessarily reflect their position.
Hope you enjoy the read.
1/17
These thoughts are all my own, and whist a member of @RenewParty they do not necessarily reflect their position.
Hope you enjoy the read.
1/17
We needed ventilators, so we ordered them from a tractor maker & a vacuum maker.
We cancelled the orders when we realised it was easier to order them from ventilator makers.
2/17
We cancelled the orders when we realised it was easier to order them from ventilator makers.
2/17
We needed large amounts of #PPE to be distributed so we drafted in the Army.
We then realised we didn't have the PPE to be distributed and blamed nurses for using too much of it.
Individuals stared making scrubs from home.
3/17
We then realised we didn't have the PPE to be distributed and blamed nurses for using too much of it.
Individuals stared making scrubs from home.
3/17
Thank you for your views. I think I have a different concept of what it means to be elitist. It is not always about how many farmhouses the family owns... quite frankly, good luck to those people with yachts and homes in Sandbanks - I wish them well. They are “rich”; not elitist.
It is not about where someone received their education... good luck to those who went to Public Schools and got to play funny ball’n’stick games while wearing a silk handkerchief on their heads and carrying a stuffed badger under their left arm - I wish them well. They are not
Elitist either; they are “privileged” and this gives them more opportunity for what they choose to do with their lives. Incidentally, I went to a comprehensive and got to Cambridge through hard work and sleeping with the Bursar (That last bit was for comic effect... it was just
An examination of the #Cummings transcript in thread below & some questions that could have been asked- on 26 March @BorisJohnson is tested +ve for #COVID19 raising a possibility that he #Cummings has it, he races home to wife on learning she is ill - thread 1/23
2/22 Despite possibility of his wife Mary having #COVID19 why does Cummings ignore guidance & not self-isolate but return to work? - How many did he infect or put in danger? Were those individuals traced & tested?
3/23 Mary may have had #COVID19 which meant he might also, or he passed it to her- guidance says #StayAtHome if you have #COVID19 symptoms- “extraordinary circumstance” was being a parent who feared he may contract virus but why was that different to any other parent?
What a defence😂- “My wife was very worried particularly as my eyesight was effected by the disease” so #Cummings then decided to drive for half an hour with his wife & child to #BarnardCastle to see if it was safe to do so, then drove 260 miles to London #Fatherof2020🏆
The Story so far...#DominicCummings (#DomCum) Tour 2020
19.03.20: The Prime Minister, #BorisJohnson makes a nationwide statement about #CoronaVirus aka #Covid19
gov.uk/government/spe…
19.03.20: The Prime Minister, #BorisJohnson makes a nationwide statement about #CoronaVirus aka #Covid19
gov.uk/government/spe…
gov.uk/government/spe…
23.03.20: The Prime Minister, #BorisJohnson announces measures for a nationwide #UK #Lockdown as a response to contain #CoronaVirus aka #Covid19
gov.uk/government/spe…
23.03.20: The Prime Minister, #BorisJohnson announces measures for a nationwide #UK #Lockdown as a response to contain #CoronaVirus aka #Covid19
gov.uk/government/spe…
23.03.20: The Prime Minister addresses the nation once more.
"That is why we have given the clear instruction that people must stay at home – unless they have one of the reasons we have set out, & with your help we will slow the spread of the disease."
gov.uk/government/spe…
"That is why we have given the clear instruction that people must stay at home – unless they have one of the reasons we have set out, & with your help we will slow the spread of the disease."
gov.uk/government/spe…
Pit stop at Cricketers Pub🍺 in #BarnardCastle whilst campaigning + a big team including @RishiSunak + @carriesymonds (+ Dilyn the dog on tour) for @DehennaDavison our ⭐️ @Conservatives candidate hoping 2 turn #BishopAuckland blue. 502 Majority to beat #Aspiration👍
No question @DehennaDavison getting support from Labour switchers + her energy / aspiration = a big difference to doom and gloom Goodman, the incumbent 2/
There was also the obligatory #DilyntheDogSelfie
