Instant reflections on briefing

-Shapps struggled to justify it
- idea that he stayed put once he got there isn't convincing
-Jenny Harries didn't save him. She repeated importance of following guidelines if you have symptoms. She did talk about importance of safeguarding...

-however repeated that that applied to emergency situations only, if there were no other choice and no help available locally- if there was a "direct threat to life"

-Hard to see how there was a direct threat to life at the time. If we're to believe the account, Mr Cummings hadn't even developed disease when he drove.

-Harries and Shapps did talk about common sense. Have to say ministers didn't add much qualification around common sense at the time. They were unequivocal- as was the advice, that if you or you family had symptoms, you should stay at home.

If everyone "looked after" their family as DC did R would have been higher. The fundamental accusation against Cummings is he free rode off back of others' sacrifice. https://twitter.com/OliverDowden/status/1264221876374646786?s=20

ministers will need a more convincing answer to that than that which appeared at the presser.

Is clear from ministers/ MPs defending him that PM is determined to keep DC and will spend considerable political capital in the process. Political cost to that but maybe public health one too. Might be harder for No 10 to deliver new directives on lockdown while he's in post

I suspect this isn't going away and will run, not least because the varying accounts don't cohere. Crunch may be if it affects govt's standing in the polls. I wonder if footage of Cummings grinning and castigating journalists to social distance will play badly with the public.