Today, Sunday, at Bowleaze cove I saw a party of 12 sitting or standing about one metre apart. This was the day before restrictions were eased to allow a party of up to six to meet, keeping two metres apart. I did not ask them why they had chosen to ignore, in advance, the revised regulations.

If I had, would they have quoted Dominic Cummings blatant disregard of the Coronvirus safety code? Perhaps. Certainly a large majority of the public think Mr Cummings took the public for fools and want his head. Today an Opinion poll shows 81% of people believe he broke the rules and 68% think that he should resign. Professor Van- Tam, deputy chief medical officer, said at a recent coronavirus briefing "The rules are clear, are for the benefit of all and they apply to all."

Yet what did Boris Johnson say, in defending Dominic Cummings? Mr Johnson insisted that Mr Cummings "acted responsibly, legally and with integrity". Does Mr Johnson not wonder why the Conservatives' lead over Labour has crashed from 26 points at the end of March to just 4 points now? What does it take to make him change his mind and sack his chief adviser?

The public's massive loss of trust in this government, partly due to the reckless actions of one man, is dangerous for all of us, as we seek to overcome this deadly virus. One man's career is expendable, our lives are not.

John Tomblin

Littlemoor Road

Weymouth