Prime Minister Boris Johnson says his senior advisor Dominic Cummings acted "responsibly and with integrity" when he travelled to Durham during lockdown.
The PM appeared at the Downing Street briefing on Sunday, where he faced questions on the future the senior aide following allegations he broke lockdown rules.
In his opening remarks, Mr Johnson made it clear he is still standing by his key adviser.
Mr Johnson said his adviser acted “responsibly, legally and with integrity”.
He said Cummings “followed the instincts of every father” when travelling to his parents' home in Durham.
Leading the Government press conference for the third time since being discharged from hospital on April 12, Mr Johnson said he could "not mark down" Mr Cummings for the way he acted.
The PM said: "I have had extensive face-to-face conversations with Dominic Cummings and I have concluded that in travelling to find the right kind of childcare, at the moment when both 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.
"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."
You can follow live updates on the press conference here.
The Prime Minister had been urged to sack Mr Cummings after reports surfaced that the 48-year-old made a second trip to County Durham, where his family lives, despite stringent social restrictions being in place.
The PM pledged his "full support" on Saturday to his under-fire chief adviser, who it emerged had travelled 260 miles to the North East in March to self-isolate with his family while official guidelines warned against long-distance journeys.
According to the Sunday Times, the Tory leader told allies he would not throw Mr Cummings "to the dogs" following reports he made the journey to ensure his four-year-old child could be looked after as he and his wife were ill.
But according to reports in the Observer and Sunday Mirror, the former Vote Leave campaign co-ordinator made a second trip to Durham and was seen there on April 19 - five days after being photographed on his return to Westminster.
A second witness told the papers they saw him a week earlier in Barnard Castle on Easter Sunday, a popular tourist location 30 miles from Durham, during the period he was believed to be self-isolating.
Downing Street has said it would "not waste time" replying to the fresh allegations from "campaigning newspapers".
