‘Barnard Castle is the new Pizza Express, Woking’: Britons poke fun at Dominic Cummings for bizarre explanation of his lockdown trip to Durham during car-crash press briefing
- Dominic Cummings faced fury over his decision to drive 260 miles to Durham
- He today refused to apologise for the trip and claimed he acted ‘reasonably’
- Britons have been picking apart his explanations with memes on social media
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
Dominic Cummings has become the subject of thousands of memes as sceptical Britons poke fun at his explanation for his lockdown trip to Durham.
Mr Cummings today refused to apologise for driving 260 miles amid coronavirus restrictions, and claimed he had always behaved ‘reasonably and legally’ after sparking widespread fury.
The Prime Minister’s top aide said his decision to travel to the city to stay in a cottage on his parents’ land was the result of a ‘very complicated, tricky situation’, and he ‘doesn’t regret’ what he did.
He is now facing accusations of ‘double standards’ – with doubting Britons picking apart the advisor’s story on Twitter and many sharing memes following his car-crash press briefing.
Some Twitter users joked Barnard Castle is ‘the new Pizza Express, Woking’ – referring to Prince Andrew’s car crash interview last year about his involvement with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Dominic Cummings said his decision to travel to the city to stay in a cottage on his parents’ land was the result of a ‘very complicated, tricky situation’
Mr Cummings confirmed that he had travelled to the town of Barnard Castle to ‘check his eyesight’ while driving on April 12 after the end of his period in self-isolation with coronavirus. This Twitter user edited the town’s sign to reflect a chart of letters at an opticians
Some Twitter users joked Barnard Castle is the new Pizza Express, Woking – referring to Prince Andrew’s car crash interview about his involvement with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein
Twitter user Conor superimposed Mr Cumming’s face onto a panellist on the BBC One show Would I Lie To You?
One Twitter user posted a clip of the character Simon from comedy show The Inbetweeners saying: ‘I dunno, I think that’s a bit dodgy, mate’ with the hashtag #dominiccummings
One Twitter user implied Mr Cummings had been digging himself a hole during the press conference
Billy Bragg posted a video clip of a car crash with the message: ‘Check this Dominic Cummings press conference’
Labour MP Andrew Gwynne likened the briefing to a sketch from comedy show Little Britain, where a politician gives a dubious explanation for events at a press conference.
Another mocked his explanation for driving to the town of Barnard Castle to ‘check his eyesight’ by editing the town’s sign to reflect a chart of letters at an opticians.
One Twitter user shared a clip of Simon from The Inbetweeners saying: ‘I dunno, I think that’s a bit dodgy, mate,’ with the hashtag #dominiccummings
And one, from Wales, implied that Mr Cummings had been ‘digging a hole’ during the public statement – by sharing a snap of a man doing just that.
Meanwhile on Facebook, Wayne Boyle shared a meme featuring Dominic Cummings performing a spoof of The Proclaimer’s hit 500 Miles, replacing the lyrics with ‘I Would Drive 200 Miles…’.
Labour MP Andrew Gwynne likened the briefing to a sketch from comedy show Little Britain, where a politician gives a dubious explanation for events at a press conference
On Facebook, Wayne Boyle shared a meme featuring Dominic Cummings performing a spoof of The Proclaimer’s hit ‘I Would Walk 500 Miles’
Fifty Shades of Grey author EL James revealed she was entertained by avidly watching her Twitter timeline during the press briefing – sharing a snap of a baby antelope tucking into popcorn with the caption ‘keep going’
In response to a protestor making disruptive noise in the background, Caolan Mc Aree tweeted: ‘Is Boris playing the vuvuzela in the background?’
Another bemused Twitter user drew comparisons to the Little Britain sketch following the briefing
Sarah O’Connell shared a snap of Bernard Castle with an optician letter board superimposed on the wall, writing it is ‘famously home to the world’s largest eye test’
Britons poured scorn over Dominic Cummings following his explanation for why he chose to break lockdown. Nicole Allen shared an image of an enormous hole in a landscape, joking it was the one Dominic Cummings had dug himself