The hypocrisy of both the press and government officials has become an embarrassment to the British public.

It looks very much like the bad old days of the Paparazzi are back.

When you think rules don’t apply to you!

The hypocrisy of government and the press knows no bounds. The press is flouting all social distancing rules to get a story about a government adviser who broke the social distancing rules. The rules he helped make.

It is quite right that Dominic Cummings faces disciplinary procedures and even losing his job if that is the ruling of the procedure. But it is not right for the press to also carry out a “do as we say not as we do” policy, in their pursuit to get a story.

What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander!

This is by no means a defence of Cummings and his actions. In fact, we should not accept Cummings breaking the rules but neither should we accept the press doing the same. It’s an embarrassing display, seeing the press break all the rules in their efforts to catch a comment from Dominic Cummings and while doing so It sends out a message to the British public that rules only apply to the masses, the working class. The working class who have been arrested and fined for the smallest breach in these rules. ‘We the people‘ must do as we are told!

People have taken the government at their world and carried out to the best of their ability’s social distancing rules. For many at both great financial and personal cost. The general public committed themselves to social distancing, forsaking liberties we value and hold jealously as part of what it means to be British in an effort to keep this virus at bay. The working class have self-isolated missing out on the intimacy of our extended family and friends not to mention the heartache many have endured having to overcome tragedy and loss without the extended support of family, friends and community.

We have queued for hours at the set ‘two meters’ while shopping, we have avoided crowds and public transport in an attempt to stem the spread of the virus. But when we see others acting in such a way it leaves us with many questions.

This embarrassing public display of media frenzy, a feeding fest that shows no lessons have been learnt over the years of promises that our press would act in a manner becoming of the fourth estate.

The British press is supposed to be to first defence in calling out injustices, to be the voice of the people bringing news that matter to people, making the government accountable through the public interface of its media. Not a murder of crows pecking a carcass to the bone.

If we are going to hold Cummings to account for breaking the rules we should also demand that each member of the press in this embarrassing display are reprimanded accordingly followed by the police investigating for breaking of social distancing rules.

Make them accountable too.

IPSO is the largest independent regulator of the newspaper and magazine industry in the UK. It exists to promote and uphold the highest professional standards of journalism, and to support members of the public in seeking redress where they believe that the Editors’ Code of Practice has been breached. LINK