ON watching the unfolding saga around Dominic Cummings, I am reminded of something Jesus Christ said, when a crowd of self-righteous men were baying for a woman’s blood: "Let him who has done nothing wrong be the first to throw a stone."

I have no axe to grind for Mr Cummings; I do not know the man, nor do I know the full facts around this incident. This letter is not written in his defence, but is written in distress and horror at the vitriol and hatred that has been displayed by the media and other members of society, as they have tackled what they see as a dreadful injustice.

If Mr Cummings's version of the events is true, then at the very least he is misguided in the way he handled the situation; at the most he is arrogant and hypocritical. If his version is untrue, then he is simply a liar and a deceiver, and should therefore be brought to justice.

However, I do not know which, for I do not know the full facts; nor do the media or the public who lambast or support him via statements or tweets. There is no doubt that those who resent or hate Mr Cummings have found a vent for their angst and are fully taking advantage of this situation. There is also no doubt that those who are his supporters are the ones who will cut him some slack and be less likely to criticise his actions.

It grieves me greatly that our society has degenerated so far that we are resorting to "trial by mob", bullying and baying for blood. We are in a sorry mess when we publish and broadcast damning statements and accusations without due process. We are proclaiming loud and far, “Guilty” without the full evidence. Which one of us has done nothing wrong? Which one of us has the right to throw the first stone?

Much has been made of the thought that we want to come out of the Covid-19 pandemic with a more caring, compassionate society. That is a wonderful vision, but I am not going to hold my breath.

Our political leaders and our media are failing us in this dream of a better society, for they bite at each other like wolves, and spread widely unsubstantiated "facts" and hateful, spiteful judgements. Shame on them.

Alasdair HB Fyfe, Glasgow G76.

HAVING watched Dominic Cummings's press conference, I was truly stunned by the content of it ("I haven’t broken any rules", The Herald, May 26). One of the major architects of UK lockdown policy uses the defence that he broke no laws. This in itself is highly debatable, but is a strategy to divert the public away from the cynical action he took.

The assumption is that we are all too stupid to realise that this is a diversionary tactic. He is a person who is at the very top of the government structure and who has the veto on any policy. Also he is a person who sits on the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) but is not a scientist and is certainly not independent. With this experience and knowledge he knew perfectly well that he was in serious breach of the guidelines he himself would have approved. In these circumstances this is a more major breach than just breaking the law.

Let us not be fooled by the use of his child to evoke sympathy. The Government does not make exceptions for those whose loved ones are dying. There is no sympathy from those in authority for those who cannot say goodbye. There is no dispensation for anyone apart from immediate family at funerals, which is incredibly painful. Many, many people have suffered greatly but due to restrictions could not do the simple human things which are a part of any society.

Mr Cummings knowingly broke his own guidelines and as such must go or there will be a deep and lasting anger and mistrust at policymakers which is the last thing that the country needs during this pandemic. There cannot be one rule for us and a different set of rules for them.

David Stubley, Prestwick.

IT is late on Monday night and I am off to bed – almost crying with despair and disbelief at the farce I have watched today on our TV screens; were the ghastly situation in which this country finds itself not so serious and not so worrying and not so frightening, the performances from Dumb and Dumber could almost have been from the film of that name.

Re Dominic Cummings: knowing what this man is like from the hours of TV footage from the General Election, and what we read about him in established papers such as your own, he perhaps can fool some of the people with his one-hour prepared statement, and question and answer session, but it was all a carefully prepared act; I work in theatre, and I know an act prepared and presented for the situation and the cameras. Stay at home – simple; was Covid diagnosed for any of the three – not that I heard; test your eyes by driving with your family in the car – really?

As for the Prime Minister , only a man such as this lost public schoolboy could present a press conference much worse today than his awful one from yesterday; and he leads our Government, with obviously a load of sycophants grovelling to his beck and call. I have never felt so ashamed to be British and ruled, politically, by this Prime Minister.

So, no, not one immediate resignation or dismissal/sacking is required; two are required, and as soon as possible. Then we can concentrate on trying to get this country back to dealing with getting rid of this dreadful plague, and thus return to some form of normality.

And so to bed.

Walter Paul, Glasgow G42.

YOUR front page today (May 26) neatly sums up the split in our society. The lead story, in bold headlines, "I haven't broken any rules", concerns an individual who has been accused of making a mistake but at no actual cost to society, only a perception. The smaller front page story, "Sturgeon says care home plan may have led to deaths", speaks for itself. This is a product of our "celebrity"-focused age. It is not what you do, it is who you are. The gravity of the different situations seems misplaced. Our society will never recover if this is how we conduct our affairs.

Dr Gerald Edwards, Glasgow G77.

NEIL Mackay obviously penned his article ("Thank God for Dominic Cummings. At least hating him has brought this divided country together, The Herald, 26) before hearing Mr Cummings’s, to my mind, fairly rational, calm and humble explanation regarding his trip to Durham. I wonder how many of us, like Mr Cummings, would have put the welfare of our family first and interpreted the rules using our common sense and best judgement, rather than an over rigid adherence to the sloganised message.

Certainly the wise and politically expedient thing for Boris Johnson to do would be to sack his chief adviser. However, I find his loyalty in, at least so far, not bowing to the pressure of the baying mob, quite admirable. This is in stark contrast to the great disappointment I felt when Nicola Sturgeon so cravenly failed to support her Chief Medical Officer in very similar circumstances.

Jim Meikle, Killearn.

ROBERT Frazer (Letters, May 26) says that Nicola Sturgeon is a blatant hypocrite and that she behaved exactly like the Prime Minister. No, she didn’t. Unlike the Prime Minister, Ms Sturgeon did not say that Catherine Calderwood had “done nothing wrong”. She did not say that she had “acted within the law”. She did not say that she had “acted with integrity”. Unlike Dr Calderwood, Dominic Cummings has neither apologised nor admitted he was wrong.

David Clark, Tarbolton.

A GOOD football referee interprets the rules in a spirit of fair play. So congratulations to Moray MP and qualified ref Douglas Ross for giving the red card to Dominic Cummings.

Clearly, there's nothing the matter with this ref's eyesight in spotting the Government playmaker's cynical disregard for universal lockdown and his blatant breach of self-isolation.

Mr Ross may be losing ministerial status, but should gain much respect for returning a little honour to the political arena.

Anthony O'Donnell, Edinburgh EH4.

DOES anyone feel that the carefully scripted story/speech from Dominic Cummings should have started with the words “Once upon a time”?

Alan McGibbon, Paisley.

AS a pharmacist during these trying times, can I bring to the public's attention a new and very worrying developing symptom? It has already been exhibited by Boris Johnson and Dominic Cummings to dramatic effect, namely that of pants on fire. Be alert.

Andrew Miller, Stirling.

NOTWITHSTANDING the debate on whether or not Dominic Cummings should have travelled to Durham, there is another important issue that he raised during his explanation.

If he was unsure about his eyesight, then he should not have driven a motor vehicle. Anyone doing so would almost certainly be in breach of the law. In addition, they would be putting other road users at risk. If he had no problems with his eyesight then he was in breach of the rules in place at the time by going out for a drive. In either of these cases there are consequences which any other person would accept.

JS Park, Stirling.

WHAT chance have we got? The man who runs the country can't tuck his shirt into his trousers and his assistant can't comb his hair.

Leonard Maguire, Coatbridge.

MANY of your correspondents are quite rightly outraged at Dominic Cummings and the Prime Minister and it is little wonder that they have taken to your pages to express their fury – although I wonder where the anger of some of them was when Catherine Calderwood was breaking lockdown for a couple of jollies in Fife, and when Nicola Sturgeon was defending her to the hilt.

However, I hope that they all feel much better for getting it off their chest, and will now turn their attention to figuring out who is responsible for the NHS and public health in Scotland, and in particular, where the blame lies for our excess death rates and in particular those in our care homes. (Clue: it is not Dominic Cummings.)

Peter A Russell, Glasgow G13.

Read more: Boris Johnson tried to persuade Douglas Ross to stay on in UK Government – but failed, say Tory sources