Priti Patel has said covid rules are clear, firm and "tough enough" despite confusion over the restrictions.
The Home Secretary made the comments at a Downing Street briefing on Tuesday after questions were posed about the regulations.
It came after two women were fined for driving separately to go on a walk together with a cup of coffee and the Prime Minister was seeing cycling in Olympic Park, seven miles from Downing Street.
And while many asked for clarification of the rules, Ms Patel refused to clear up any confusion.
Instead, she said: " We are in a pandemic. The British public are absolutely sensible, they are conscientious, they understand the stay at home message.
"When it comes to staying at home that also means staying local... Exercise is important - it's important for people's health and wellbeing - and that equally applies to exercise."
Pressed on whether the rules are tough enough, Ms Patel said: "The rules are clear, the rules are firm in terms of staying at home...
"The rules are tough enough - you've already heard 45,000 fixed-penalty notices have been issued just in the recent time since we've been in this pandemic."
Earlier on Tuesday, Derbyshire Police rescinded the fixed penalty notices given to the two women, causing more confusion over what rules were believed to have been broken in the first place.
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At the press conference, Ms Patel added: "When it comes to exercising, I do say stay local - staying local is absolutely crucial."
She added it was important to stay away from other people "which is clearly what the Prime Minister did when he was taking his daily exercise".
"I think, quite frankly, we all have to ask ourselves what can we do to keep everyone safe and absolutely reduce our contact with each other."
