DEFIANT BORIS STANDS BY HIS MAN

PM insists chief adviser Cummings acted ‘responsibly and legally’

- Macer Hall

BORIS Johnson gave his full backing to top aide Dominic Cummings after calls to sack him for allegedly breaking lockdown rules.

As MPs from all sides expressed fury, the Prime Minister yesterday insisted his chief strategy adviser “acted responsibly, legally and with integrity” in travelling 260 miles to self-isolate near his parents.

Mr Cummings had “no alternative” to staying away from his London home because of the need to arrange childcare for his four-year-old son, Mr Johnson said.

The PM added: “I think he followed the instincts of every father and every parent. And I do not mark him down for that.” He stood by his man after 10 of his backbenchers, including two former ministers, broke ranks to demand the adviser’s sacking.

The row, which erupted on Friday night, deepened over the weekend when reports claimed Mr Cummings, 48, made a separate visit to the North East in April after returning to London.

Ministerial colleagues and Downing Street aides backed his denial he was there.

Mr Johnson summoned Mr Cummings yesterday to interrogate him “extensively” about his decision to quarantine with wife Mary Wakefield, 45, and their son. Mr Cummings went to a property near his parents’ home in County Durham after suffering coronavirus symptoms in March.