MP displays Barnard Castle eye test during Commons question

An MP appeared to have a subtle dig at Dominic Cummings as she appeared on screen with a Barnard Castle eye test while asking a question in the House of Commons.

Conservative Dehenna Davison, who is MP for the Bishop Auckland constituency where Barnard Castle is situated, was appearing virtually in the chamber during Cabinet Office questions.

While speaking, a mock-up eye test featuring the words Barnard Castle in increasingly small font was visible stuck to the wall over her left shoulder.

Mr Cummings, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s former senior aide, found himself in the focus of a media storm last year after driving his family to County Durham during the first coronavirus lockdown.

He drove to Barnard Castle, later claiming he made the journey to test his eyesight.

He reiterated the claim during Wednesday’s select committee appearance, during which he made a number of explosive claims around the Government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

Referring to the drive to Barnard Castle, he said: “If I was going to make up a story I would have come up with a hell of a lot better one than that one, right? It’s such a weird story.”