IT is clear that Dominic Cummings broke the lockdown rules, which he had helped to write, and has shown incredible arrogance in not accepting that what he did was wrong.

He has also refused to acknowledge that so many millions of others have made great sacrifices during this crisis, sacrifices he was unable to make himself. The contempt which both Cummings and Johnson have for the British people has been laid bare for all to see.

All this while it is vital that the lockdown is maintained as the rate of new cases remains perilously high.

However, there is even more to the story of Dominic Cummings, which we should all be both aware of and deeply concerned about. Both Cummings and Johnson are at the heart of a mission to break down barriers between the government and the power of money. They seek to open our NHS up to even more privatisation than there already is.

The drive to make care homes profitable has seen the creation of a fragmented, incoherent system, answerable sometimes to offshore owners, that fails to meet basic standards, and employs workers on insulting zero hours contracts.

We have also had to witness the utter failure of private companies to procure the PPE which has been so needed by our NHS staff and which has been so desperately lacking. Over 300 NHS workers have died in this pandemic.

With an official death rate approaching 40,000, the second highest in the world and other calculations putting it as high as 62,000, there can be no doubt as to the failure of this government to manage the pandemic and protect the people of Britain.

If Cummings and Johnson stay in power they will continue to do deep damage to our NHS and put many more people’s lives at risk. The British people, who are rightly continuing to help each other and stick by the rules to keep each other safe, deserve so much better.

Peter Sagar, Newcastle