Presenter Piers Morgan has savagely slammed Dominic Cummings for his explanation to the public about his reasons for breaching lockdown restrictions.
The Prime Minister's aide gave a press conference from the gardens of 10 Downing Streets after the media reported he had travelled from his home in London to his parent's farm in Durham after he and his wife fell ill with suspected coronavirus.
During the press conference, Good Morning Britain host Morgan live tweeted and poured scorn on Mr Cummings' "excuses" and told him to "stop lying".
Mr Cummings was also criticised for driving to Barnard Castle, 30 minutes from his parents' home, in order to "test his eyesight" before driving back to London.
Morgan also called out Mr Cummings' claim he had didn't tell Prime Minister Boris Johnson about his trip.
Piers tweeted: "He didn’t tell Boris? Stop lying, you absurd man."
He went on to mock Cummings for claiming he drove his wife and son to a beauty spot an hour away to test his eyesight.
Piers wrote: "If his eyesight was damaged, why was he driving a car? #cummings...
"An hour, both ways... risking the life of the child he drove 250 miles to ‘protect’...
"If you were ‘testing your eyesight’, why would you put your 4yr-old child in the car for an hour when by then it was OK for him to stay with family?"
He went on to slam Cummings for failing to apologise for his actions or even consider handing in his notice.
Piers tweeted: "No apology. For breaking three lockdown rules that HE helped create. Unbelievable. #cummings...
"He’s never offered to resign, hasn’t even crossed his mind. Staggering. #cummings...
"He cannot possibly survive this."
Another sticking point for Piers was Cummings' declaration that he didn't seek help with childcare from friends and family in London, because his teenage niece had already offered to help 260 miles away.
Piers added: "He just admitted he accepted his 17yr-old niece’s offer to ‘expose herself to a deadly disease.’ What kind of man does that? #cummings...
"Literally prepared to kill his niece."
He went on to accuse the PM's top advisor of "playing the victim" and making a mockery of the British people.
He added: "This is contemptible. All of it. Millions of people obeyed the rules HE created - and he brazenly ignored them multiple times.
"Now he’s lying away, playing the victim, and taking the whole country for morons. #cummings."
During the press conference, Cummings insisted he had no regrets about his actions and denied breaking the rules.
He also claimed he had not broken the "spirit" of the rules, saying: "I did what I thought was the right thing to do...
"I believe I behaved reasonably and legally."
Hours later Mr Johnson faced several questions about Mr Cummings during the UK Government's daily coronavirus briefing.
The PM believed Mr Cummings "was doing his best for his family" and insisted the 260 mile trip to Durham had not done "done anything to undermine" the government's "stay at home" message.
