Prime Minister Boris Johnson is standing by his senior aide Dominic Cummings who was recently come under fire for driving from his home in London to Durham after his wife developed coronavirus symptoms.
Johnson, who gave today's briefing, said 'in every respect he has acted responsibly and legally' when he made the trip.
He began the briefing by saying: "It is because I take this matter so seriously, and it is so serious, that I can tell you today that I've had extensive face-to-face conversations with Dominic Cummings and I've concluded that in travelling to find the right kind of childcare, at the moment when he and his wife were about to be incapacitated by coronavirus and when he had no alternative, I think he followed the instincts of every father and every parent and I do not mark him down for that."
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Johnson also claimed that 'some' of the allegations that have been made against his aide were 'palpably false'.
He said: "Though there have been many other allegations about what happened when he was in self-isolation and thereafter, some of them palpably false, I believe that in every respect he has acted responsibly and legally and with integrity and with the overwhelming aim of stopping the spread of the virus and saving lives."
When asked whether he supported Cummings, Johnson reiterated: "I think what they did was totally understandable.
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"I think any father, any parent would understand what he did".
His announcement comes after Cummings was called to No 10 earlier today, following increasing pressure for him to resign from the general public, opposition members and even Conservative MPs.
Cummings drove 260 miles to a second home in Durham after his wife started to show coronavirus symptoms.
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It's claimed he did so because he wanted his sister and niece to look after their four-year-old child and bring food round.
The revelations were published by the Mirror, and seem to directly contradict an account published by Cummings' wife Mary Wakefield last month, in which she wrote about herself and her husband getting ill but failed to mention any trip outside of London.
Featured Image Credit: PA