Boris Johnson's senior adviser Dominic Cummings has defended travelling hundreds of miles from London during the coronavirus lockdown - saying he does not regret the decision.
In a statement to media today, Mr Cummings confirmed he had driven from London to Durham on Friday 27th March.
He also acknowledged that he had travelled from Durham to the outskirts of Barnard Castle town on April 12th - a 25 mile drive.
Mr Cummings said he made that drive to test his eyesight before making the journey back home to London the following day.
In terms of the initial trip, Mr Cummings said he made the decision to travel to Durham after his wife developed symptoms of coronavirus in late March.
He said they decided the “best thing to do was to drive to an isolated cottage on my father’s farm”.
Mr Cummings told reporters: “If we were both unable to look after our child, then my sister or nieces [could] look after him."
He insisted they maintained social distancing, including 'shouting' to communicate with family members who lived nearby.
He said he initially didn't tell Boris Johnson about his decision to leave London, and they 'don't recall' the details of the conversation they first had about it weeks later.
Amid mounting public calls for him to resign from his role, Mr Cummings said he "respectfully disagreed" with those who felt he broke lockdown rules.
He claimed "the legal rules inevitably do not cover all circumstances".
Mr Cummings also dismissed reports he had travelled to Durham again after returning to London, saying any such stories were "false".
