Coronavirus: Lockdown double standards across Europe as politicians break their own rules

Dominic Cummings sparked public outrage on Friday when it was revealed he travelled 260 miles to a home in Durham during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

At a press conference on Monday, the prime minister’s top aide insisted that he had acted reasonably — despite making a second trip to Barnard Castle in an apparent bid to test his eyesight.

But Mr Cummings is not the only political figure to face accusations of having flouted lockdown rules — and perhaps he won’t be the last, as evidenced by photos emerging from Dublin over the weekend showing Leo Varadkar enjoying a picnic in Phoenix Park.

Lawmakers from Spain to Poland have found themselves in hot water over accusations that they had interpreted the rules differently from the rest of the public

Here, The Independent looks at some of the high-profile names across the continent accused of breaking the rules.

In Germany, the liberal FDP party leader Christian Lindner was spotted hugging a friend outside a Berlin restaurant.

Mr Lidner, 41, was forced to make a public apology after his transgression was reported widely in the German media.

“The spontaneous farewell hug on Friday was a mistake, as they unfortunately occur among friends after a private evening,” he said. “It was not intentional ... in the end we are all human. I’m sorry!” he wrote in an apology posted to Twitter.

Spanish vice president Pablo Iglesias faced a public backlash for breaking self-isolation rules in March.

Igelasias, 41, continued to go to work despite his partner, equality minister Irene Montero, having tested posted for the novel virus.

Just one month later the Madrid native was reprimanded for ignoring government guidance on the use of face masks after he was snapped shopping at a supermarket without a face covering.

Irish premier Leo Varadkar, 41, was forced to deny that he had broken lockdown regulations after photos and video emerged showing him enjoying what appeared to be a picnic in Dublin’s Phoenix Park on Sunday.

It came just a week after his assistant secretary of the Department of the Taoiseach announced that people should only visit parks for exercise and not stay too long.

“If you’re visiting a public amenity try not to stay too long at the site or have picnics. Please do your exercise and then go home,” she said.

A spokesperson for Mr Varadkar insisted on Monday that he had not broken any regulations: “Government guidelines allow people to spend time in the outdoors within 5km of their home while continuing to observe social distancing and good hygiene.

“There are no specific government guidelines on eating outdoors or picnics.”

Poland’s prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki found himself in hot water after he attended wreath-laying ceremony but did not wear a mask or follow social-distancing guidelines.

The 51-year-old historian and economist had been attending a service to commemorate former president Lech Kaczyński who died in a plane crash in 2010.

Meanwhile, in the UK, scientists and former health service workers are among some of the public figures who have either resigned or been forced to defend their actions to the public.

Neil Ferguson, dubbed “Professor lockdown” for the role he played in helping the government plan its coronavirus strategy, was visited by his lover at his home during lockdown.

As a top adviser to the government and one of the world’s most respected scientific modellers, Ferguson, 52, said that his position was no longer tenable following the transgression, admitting that he had made an “error of judgement”.

Professor Ferguson said he regretted “undermining” the continued need for social distancing in helping to tackle the virus and subsequently resigned from his position on the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies.

Doctor Catherine Calderwood, a clinician with more than 20 years of experience working in the health service, resigned from her post as Scotland’s chief medical officer in April after she made two separate visits to a home in Fife.

Dr Calderwood, highly regarded by Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon, accepted that her actions had risked distraction from the country’s Covid-19 response.

In a statement announcing her resignation, the 51-year-old said she was disappointed with her behaviour “having worked so hard on the government’s response” to the virus.

“That is the last thing I want,” she added.

Stephen Kinnock, the Labour MP for Aberavon in south Wales, was publicly shamed by police after travelling to London to celebrate the birthday of his father and former party leader Neil Kinnock.

Mr Kinnock, 50, posted a photo of himself socially distancing with his parents in their garden with the message: “Dad turned 78 today. Incredible, but true...sat in their front garden for a socially distanced celebration. As you do Happy birthday, mate.”

After the image was shared online, South Wales Police reminded Mr Kinnock that travelling to London for his father’s birthday was not “essential travel”.

“We know celebrating your Dad’s birthday is a lovely thing to do, however this is not essential travel. We all have our part to play in this, we urge you to comply with (lockdown) restrictions, they are in place to keep us all safe. Thank you,” the force tweeted in response.

Robert Jenrick was forced to explain his actions to the public in April after it was revealed that he had travelled 150 miles from a property in London to his parents’ house in Shropshire.

The Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary claimed that he had been delivering food and essential medicines to his mother and father who had been self-isolating.

Mr Jenrick, 38, had previously made several media appearances in which he urged the public not to visit loved-ones to help stop the spread of the disease.