Boris Johnson today threw his full support behind lockdown renegade Dominic Cummings.
But the PM sent minister Grant Shapps out to defend his special adviser after it emerged Mr Cummings took his family 260 miles to be near his parents’ home to isolate themselves with coronavirus.
The Transport Secretary was unable to say whether Mr Johnson knew that Mr Cummings, 48, had whisked his wife Mary and four-year-old son Alexander to a property in County Durham.
The family, who have a house in London, decided to self-isolate in the North after both were diagnosed with Covid-19.
A local police and crime commissioner called for Mr Cummings – who takes part in crucial meetings of the Government’s scientific coronavirus advice group Sage – to be sacked from No10.
Kim McGuinness said: “Travelling 260 miles with a deadly infectious disease is a level of irresponsibility so dangerous it is at the point of criminality.”
A Labour Party spokesman said: “The PM’s chief adviser appears to believe that it is one rule for him and another for the British people.
“This will cause understandable anger for the millions of people who have sacrificed so much during this crisis.”
A snap YouGov poll last night found a majority of people thought Mr Cummings should resign. But Mr Shapps said: “The important thing is that someone remains in the same place for lockdown.
“The PM knew he was staying put and did not go out again.”
Mr Shapps claimed the case was different from others who had resigned for breaking lockdown rules – such as the Government’s scientific adviser Professor Neil Ferguson.
The minister said: “This wasn’t sort of visiting a holiday home or going to visit someone, this was to stay put for 14 days, to remain in isolation.”
He added: “The PM knew that Mr Cummings was unwell and that he was in lockdown, but of course the PM was also unwell during the same period.”
Mr Shapps was speaking at the daily corona briefing as it was revealed the number of deaths has risen by 282 to 36,675.
England’s deputy chief medical officer Dr Jenny Harries would not be drawn on individual cases, but said that anyone with symptoms should stay home unless death was the likely alternative.
Labour, the Lib Dems and SNP wrote to Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill demanding a full inquiry into whether the top Downing Street aide breached lockdown rules.
Labour’s shadow cabinet office minister Rachel Reeves said: “It is vital that the Government can reassure the public that senior figures have been adhering to the same rules as everyone else.”
Mr Johnson will this week be forced to answer questions on whether Mr Cummings broke lockdown before Parliament’s most senior MPs.
He has finally agreed to appear before the Commons liaison committee at 4pm on Wednesday after dodging coming before it ever since he became PM last July.
It is Parliament’s most powerful committee made up of the chairs of all the other select committees.
He will have to face the likes of ace interrogators from Labour, Yvette Cooper, Hilary Benn and Chris Bryant, and former ministers he fired on becoming PM – Karen Bradley, Caroline Nokes and Greg Clark.
To stop the PM getting a savaging No10 broke with convention and put in its own liason committee chair, Johnson supporter Sir Bernard Jenkin.
But a senior Tory close to the committee said: “Bernard is trying to vet the questions to be put to the PM so he gets an easy ride. But the committee is not having it.
"They want to know exactly what the PM knew about Dominic Cummings during lockdown.”
A raft of top Tories came out in support of Mr Cummings.
But Labour’s Yvette Cooper said: “The truly awful thing is that Cabinet ministers know that in a public health crisis unclear messages, lack of trust, or credibility cost lives.
"Yet they’ve chosen to rip up all their public health messages to push their party political lines instead.”
The boss of senior civil servants union Dave Penman said: “If it looks like there is one rule for those at the centre of government and one rule for rest then the PM has a constitutional responsibility to explain his actions.”
And former Tory minister Anna Soubry added: “All I think of is those people who kept to the rules and didn’t say farewell or hold the hand of a dearly loved family member before they died or attend their funeral.
“The Government has been consistent – do as we say not as we do. Arrogant and elitist.”
And Theresa May ’s former deputy David Liddington said: “The readiness of the public to follow government guidance more generally is going to be affected by this.”
Today Mr Cummings – the key figure behind Brexit ’s Vote Leave campaign – looked fit and tanned as he left his north London home and told reporters: “I behaved reasonably and legally.”
Health Secretary Matt Hancock, who also had the disease, tweeted: “It was entirely right for Dom Cummings to find childcare for his toddler”.
But acting Lib Dem leader Ed Davey added: “If Dominic Cummings has broken guidelines he will have to go. It’s as simple as that.”
