Dominic Cummings spotted in Barnard Castle 6 years on from ‘eye test’

The former chief adviser to Boris Johnson appeared in a Facebook post from local cafe Gelato Tutti on 17 April, posing outside the shop with staff.

In the post, the business quipped: “Dominic Cummings may need his annual eye test, but there’s nothing wrong with his taste buds.”

The shop branded him “A man that did more for Barnard Castle business than most governments.”

The caption plays on Cummings’ explanation that his 2020 visit was a trip to “test” his eyesight before driving back to London after recovering from Covid.

The accompanying image shows two men standing on the pavement outside Gelato Tutti’s. Cummings, is dressed casually in a jacket, hoodie, dark trousers and a baseball cap.

In May 2020 it emerged Cummings had driven around 260 miles from London to his parents’ property near Durham at the height of the first national lockdown, shortly after his wife developed Covid‑19 symptoms.

He later admitted taking a further 30‑mile trip to Barnard Castle on April 12, telling reporters he wanted to check his vision before making the journey back to Downing Street, a justification widely mocked and criticised as undermining public confidence in the rules.

(Image: NORTHERN ECHO)

Public trust in government lockdown measures nosedived following the revelations, and then Prime Minister Boris Johnson was widely criticised for defending his top aide.

Scientists, including then-chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance, labelled Cummings’ actions as clearly against lockdown rules.

Despite mounting pressure to resign, Cummings held a rare press conference in Downing Street’s Rose Garden, where he insisted he had acted legally and reasonably.

His explanation—driving to test one’s eyesight—became a source of national mockery, spawning memes and jokes that persist to this day.