James begins his response, "As you will appreciate, I have been inundated over the weekend with correspondence relating to Dominic Cummings. In my short time in politics and throughout my previous career, I have learned to maintain my own counsel, seek the right advice and obtain the facts before committing to a position. So instead of responding prematurely to concerns and knee-jerking to understandable anger, it has been incumbent on me to read the many representations that have been submitted, derive the necessary clarity and importantly, wait for Dominic Cummings to provide his own personal account of events. We live in a civilised society, presumed innocence is a fundamental tenet of who we are and the public trial that appears to be in full flow within an aggressive media remains unpalatable to many."
You can see his complete response here.
