‘Insert if there has been a bereavement’ - Tory Brexiteer underfire for Dominic Cummings email response
Prime Minister Boris Johnson's top aide Dominic Cummings leaves his north London home as the row over his trip to Durham during lockdown continues. Photograph: Victoria Jones/PA Wire. - Credit: PA
A Tory Brexiteer MP has apologised for leaving the instruction 'insert if there has been a bereavement' in an email to one of his constituents over the Dominic Cummings saga.
The mistake was left in an email response to communications Anthony Mangnall received about Cummings's controversial lockdown trip to Durham.
An extract shared on social media of an email sent by the Totnes MP shows the third paragraph of his response read: 'Insert if there has been a bereavement: May I add my condolences to the recent loss of your family member.
'The current situation has made the ability to mourn the passing of loved ones all the more difficult. I send my best wishes to you and your family.'
Mangnall said he is 'incredibly sorry' for the error, adding the additional lines were in one response to hundreds of emails he received about Cummings in recent days.
You may also want to watch:
He tweeted: 'In an effort to respond to those emails, I wrote in my own words my thoughts on the situation.
MORE: Tory MPs told to save Dominic Cummings to ensure they 'get Brexit done'
'That response contained some 'insert lines' that allowed me to respond to specific issues and concerns raised. I stupidly sent out one of those emails without having removed the additional lines.
Most Read
- 1 Bob Geldof takes swipe at No 10 saying 'lying is second nature' to them
- 2 Independent SAGE adviser gives scathing assessment of Priti Patel's £800 Covid fines
- 3 George Osborne hopes for Brexit dividend
- 4 Holyrood in talks with EU to extend Erasmus scheme to Scottish students
- 5 Jacob Rees-Mogg says it's 'all the EU's fault' musicians can't tour Europe
- 6 Tory minister admits UK rejected EU's music visa offer in order to 'take back control' of borders
- 7 Nigel Farage loses nearly 50,000 followers after Twitter suspends QAnon accounts
- 8 Fifteen ways to fix Britain
- 9 Michel Barnier tells UK to be 'very careful' in Brexit diplomatic status row
- 10 This chumocracy is costing our country
'This has caused a great deal of offence and I am incredibly sorry.'
Mangnall, who was elected last year, has said he 'shares many of the concerns' of his constituents regarding Cummings's stay in Durham and would not have taken the same 'course of action' himself, but he did not call for his resignation.
'The anger and dissatisfaction at Mr Cumming's behaviour is no surprise at all,' he wrote in a statement on Facebook.
'Spending time defending an adviser is not a good use of time, especially given the many fears and concerns about people's future and their livelihoods.'
Become a Supporter
The New European is proud of its journalism and we hope you are proud of it too. We believe our voice is important - both in representing the pro-EU perspective and also to help rebalance the right wing extremes of much of the UK national press. If you value what we are doing, you can help us by making a contribution to the cost of our journalism.