Under 解雇する／砲火／射撃 over lockdown trip, の近くに 補佐官 to UK's Johnson 堅いs it out
By Estelle Shirbon and Elizabeth Piper
LONDON, May 25 (Reuters) - British 総理大臣 Boris Johnson's closest 補佐官 辞退するd to 辞職する on Monday, 説 he had done nothing wrong by 運動ing 250 miles from London to 接近 childcare when Britons were 存在 told to stay at home to fight COVID-19.
Dominic Cummings has 直面するd calls to やめる from 国会議員s, Church of England bishops, police officers and scientists over his trip to 郡 Durham, northern England, which they said had 損失d 国民s' 信用 in public health messaging.
"I did what I thought was the 権利 thing to do," Cummings said during an 驚くべき／特命の／臨時の テレビ放送するd 取調べ／厳しく尋問するing in the rose garden at 10 負かす／撃墜するing Street, Johnson's 公式の／役人 住居.
"No, I have not 申し込む／申し出d to 辞職する. No, I have not considered it," Cummings said.
Johnson's 決定／判定勝ち（する） to stand by a man on whom he depends as his main strategist has led to his own judgment 存在 questioned, with critics 説 the episode signals that the normal 支配するs do not 適用する to the people in 告発（する），告訴（する）／料金.
"I do 悔いる the 混乱 and the 怒り／怒る and the 苦痛 that people feel ... That's why I 手配中の，お尋ね者 people to understand 正確に／まさに what had happened," Johnson told a later news 会議／協議会. "I do not believe that anybody in Number 10 has done anything to 土台を崩す our messaging."
However, that was 正確に what scientists and public health 専門家s said both men had done.
"Boris Johnson has trashed all the advice we have given on how to build 信用 and 安全な・保証する 固守 to the 対策 necessary to 支配（する）／統制する COVID-19," said Stephen Reicher, a behavioural scientist on an （a）忠告の／（n）警報 パネル盤, on Twitter.
With a death （死傷者）数 of around 43,000, Britain is Europe's worst-攻撃する，衝突する country and the 政府 had already been under 圧力 over its 扱うing of the pandemic before the Cummings story broke on Friday.
With a growing number of 国会議員s from his own 保守的な Party 反抗するing him by 勧めるing Cummings to やめる, Jo hnson asked his 信用d 補佐官, who 普通は stays behind the scenes, to explain himself in public.
The choice of the 負かす／撃墜するing Street garden as the 発生地 強調するd Cummings' importance to Johnson, whom he helped to 安全な・保証する Britain's 出口 from the European Union in a 2016 国民投票 and later helped to 勝利，勝つ 力／強力にする.
EYE TEST?
Sitting at a desk on the grass for an hour, Cummings answered questions from reporters on 問題／発行するs as 詳細（に述べる）d as whether he stopped for 石油 or 洗面所 breaks during his 400-km 旅行.
Asked what message he had for Durham 居住（者）s angry that he 危険d spreading the ウイルス in their community, he said he would advise them not to believe everything they read in the newspapers.
He said he undertook the trip after learning Johnson had 実験（する）d 肯定的な for the new coronavirus. Cummings' wife was already ill and he 恐れるd if he too fell ill neither parent would be strong enough to care for their son.
He said he decided they should go and stay in an 孤立するd cottage on his father's farm so that his 17-year-old niece could look after his son if necessary. Cummings fell ill while there, as did his son who 簡潔に went to hospital.
He said he had not tried to find an 代案／選択肢 childcare 選択 in London.
Quizzed about a 30-mile 運動 he took with his wife and son from the family farm to a beauty 位置／汚点／見つけ出す, Barnard 城, he said his eyesight had been 影響する／感情d by his illness and they 手配中の，お尋ね者 to check he would be able to 請け負う the 旅行 支援する to London.
Asked whether he thought this explanation was plausible, Johnson swerved, 説 it was plausible that Cummings' eyesight had been 影響する／感情d by COVID-19 as he himself had noticed he needed glasses since 回復するing from the 病気.
(付加 報告（する）／憶測ing by Alistair Smout and Paul Sandle; Editing by Timothy 遺産)
