Dominic Cummings has said he broke lockdown rules by travelling to Durham because he feared for the safety of his wife and young son.
Boris Johnson’s most senior adviser was trying to head off growing public anger about his 260-mile journey.
Mr Johnson is facing growing calls to sack his most trusted adviser for travelling while the rest of the country was being told to stay at home.
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The prime minister is also coming under mounting pressure from his own MPs to order an official investigation into his chief aide.
And police have been asked to establish the facts about Mr Cummings’s movements in Durham, while the UK was in lockdown.
Less than an hour before his statement the local MP said she hoped reports he had taken a day trip in her constituency were untrue.
Dehenna Davison, the MP for Bishop Auckland, said if rules had been broken “appropriate action should be taken.”
Mr Cummings admitted he had made a trip to Barnard Castle.
Mr Cummings said the Covid-19 he battled in Durham had affected his sight.
Mr Johnson had hoped his public support for Mr Cummings would draw a line under the row.
But today more Tory MPs have joined the chorus of those calling for his head.
