Durham chief constable faces probe into her handling of investigation into Dominic Cummings’ trip

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The police chief who handled the investigation into Dominic Cummings’ trip to Durham is facing a possible inquiry after a furious backlash from the public, according to reports.

Officers said that Mr Cummings might have breached lockdown when he drove to Barnard Castle on Easter Sunday, but his 260-mile journey to the north east of England did not break the rules.

Durham Police received a number of complaints from Britons angry over the handling of the investigation.

A portion of the complaints are understood to have been made against Chief Constable Jo Farrell, The Telegraph reported.   

Durham Police received a number of complaints from Britons angry over the handling of the investigation into Dominic Cummings. A portion of the complaints are understood to have been made against Durham Police’s Chief Constable Jo Farrell, pictured

Dominic Cummings, top aide to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, arrives at the back of Downing Street after the introduction of measures to bring the country out of lockdown, May 29

Dominic Cummings, top aide to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, arrives at the back of Downing Street after the introduction of measures to bring the country out of lockdown, May 29

The Force’s professional standards department will assess the complaints before a decision is made on whether the matter should be taken further.  

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) will also be informed, but no referrals have yet been made, reports indicate.  

A Durham Constabulary spokesman said there is ‘currently’ no investigation into the Force’s handling of the inquiry. 

The £157,000-a-year police chief whose force found itself at the centre of the Dominic Cummings row

Jo Farrell was appointed chief constable of Durham Constabulary last June, becoming the first woman ever to hold the key position in the force’s 180-year history.

During her time at Northumbria Police she was involved with the manhunt for killer Raoul Moat in 2010, and was in command on the night he called the force to say he was hunting for police.

Her appointment as Durham chief capped an impressive rise up the ranks during a career with the police which began nearly 30 years ago when she joined Cambridgeshire Police in 1991 aged 22 as a constable.

Mrs Farrell, whose hobbies include cooking and keeping fit, is married to a retired police officer and has two stepsons and a daughter.

The £156,958-a-year chief was born on the Wirral in Merseyside before moving to Cambridgeshire aged 15 when her father relocated with his job, and then she completing a degree in business at Sheffield Polytechnic.

Mrs Farrell had wanted to join the police since childhood and her first role was a five-year stint on the beat in Cambridge city centre.

Then in 2002 she joined Northumbria Police as a chief inspector before being promoted to assistant chief constable.

In 2016 Mrs Farrell joined Durham Constabulary and took charge of the policing for various high-profile events before her appointment as chief constable, taking over from Mike Barton after his seven-year stint.

Speaking last year, she said: ‘I was 22 when I joined the police and I absolutely loved it. Although I don’t have any family connection with the police, I had always wanted to join and I was so proud when I first became an officer.

‘As I tell all our new recruits, when we get it right, we can have such a positive impact on people’s lives – the difference that we can make is phenomenal’.

She also works on behalf of the National Police Chiefs’ Council in information management and criminal justice file quality.

It is not yet clear whether the complaints are related to anger over the police’s decision to investigate Mr Cummings, or anger over the probe’s results. 

It is understood that roughly 10 complaints have been received in total.

Acting police and crime commissioner Steve White, who last week urged Ms Farrell to investigate Mr Cummings, also received a number of complaints. 

Durham’s police and crime panel are now set to consider the complaints against Mr White – serving as temporary PCC after the death of his predecessor, Ron Hogg.

The force said on Thursday that Mr Cummings’ trip to Barnard Castle ‘might have’ been in ‘minor breach’ of the regulations.

The force added that if an officer had stopped Mr Cummings on his journey they would have provided ‘advice on the dangers of travelling during the pandemic crisis’. 

Had this advice been accepted by Mr Cummings, ‘no enforcement action would have been taken’. 

But Durham Police said they did not consider Mr Cummings self-isolating at his family’s farm a breach of the guidelines, and no further action would be taken.  

In a statement the force said: ‘In line with Durham Constabulary’s general approach throughout the pandemic, there is no intention to take retrospective action in respect of the Barnard Castle incident since this would amount to treating 

‘Mr Cummings differently from other members of the public. Durham Constabulary has not taken retrospective action against any other person.’ 

A No10 spokesman said the Prime Minister now considers this matter closed after Durham Police decided not to pursue legal action.

They added: ‘The police have made clear they are taking no action against Mr Cummings over his self-isolation and that going to Durham did not breach the regulations. 

‘The Prime Minister has said he believes Mr Cummings behaved reasonably and legally given all the circumstances and he regards this issue as closed.’ 

The force found itself at the centre of the explosive political row  after saying in a statement that it gave advice on lockdown guidelines and self-isolation when officers visited Mr Cummings’ father on March 31.  

On Sunday the force backtracked, saying that officers only gave security advice after learning that Mr Cummings was coming from London with his four-year-old son and wife. 

The top aide claims he used the journey on his wife’s birthday to check his vision had recovered enough to drive back to London after suffering suspected Covid-19.

He had already travelled 260 miles from the capital to the North East two weeks before to stay at his parents’ farm.

Road police officers warned it was a bad idea to take to the road with impaired vision in the wake of the Cummings case. 

Another police chief accused the UK government of ‘rushing’ to announce the relaxation of lockdown measures today, saying it may have been a political move to help ministers facing pressure after the fallout from Cummings’ actions.  

Northumbria’s Labour Police and Crime Commissioner Kim McGuinness said the government’s pre-announcement on Thursday was ‘mistimed’ and called for an independent inquiry. 

She said the public need not have been notified so early, putting additional pressure on police to  enforce lockdown during a heatwave weekend.    

Durham Police: Full statement on Dominic Cummings’ alleged lockdown breach

On 27 March 2020, Dominic Cummings drove to Durham to self-isolate in a property owned by his father.

Durham Constabulary does not consider that by locating himself at his father’s premises, Mr Cummings committed an offence contrary to regulation 6 of the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) Regulations 2020. (We are concerned here with breaches of the Regulations, not the general Government guidance to “stay at home”.)

On 12 April 2020, Mr Cummings drove approximately 26 miles from his father’s property to Barnard Castle with his wife and son. He stated on 25 May 2020 that the purpose of this drive was to test his resilience to drive to London the following day, including whether his eyesight was sufficiently recovered, his period of self-isolation having ended.

Durham Constabulary have examined the circumstances surrounding the journey to Barnard Castle (including ANPR, witness evidence and a review of Mr Cummings’ press conference on 25 May 2020) and have concluded that there might have been a minor breach of the Regulations that would have warranted police intervention. Durham Constabulary view this as minor because there was no apparent breach of social distancing.

Had a Durham Constabulary police officer stopped Mr Cummings driving to or from Barnard Castle, the officer would have spoken to him, and, having established the facts, likely advised Mr Cummings to return to the address in Durham, providing advice on the dangers of travelling during the pandemic crisis. Had this advice been accepted by Mr Cummings, no enforcement action would have been taken.

In line with Durham Constabulary’s general approach throughout the pandemic, there is no intention to take retrospective action in respect of the Barnard Castle incident since this would amount to treating Mr Cummings differently from other members of the public. Durham Constabulary has not taken retrospective action against any other person.

By way of further context, Durham Constabulary has followed Government guidance on management of alleged breaches of the regulations with the emphasis on the NPCC and College of Policing 4Es: Engage, Explain and Encourage before Enforcement.

Finally, commentary in the media has suggested that Mr Cummings was in Durham on 19 April 2020. Mr Cummings denies this and Durham Constabulary have seen insufficient evidence to support this allegation.

Therefore Durham Constabulary will take no further action in this matter and has informed Mr Cummings of this decision.