Tory Grant Shapps claimed Dominic Cummings is a "stickler for the rules" in a car crash TV interview.
The Tory Transport Secretary was unable to answer basic questions about when Dominic Cummings travelled to Durham, whether he stopped during his journey - and crucially, when the Prime Minister learned of the trip.
The excruciating interview came just minutes after top Brexiteer Steve Baker became the first Tory MP to break cover and call for Mr Cummings to resign over allegations he repeatedly breached lockdown rules.
In a column for The Critic, Mr Baker wrote: "Enough is enough. I and others saved him once before when he was driving Vote Leave to implosion. Not today. Dominic Cummings must go before he does any more harm to the UK, the Government, the Prime Minister, our institutions or the Conservative Party."
He added: "Time is up. It is time for Dom to resign so Boris can govern within the conventions and norms which will see us through. It is time to get competing expert advice, decent software and better decisions, end the lockdown and start a long, hard recovery."
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Mr Shapps told Sky News' Sophy Ridge: "I don't have all the times and dates for you but I understand he will have travelled up there towards the end of March and stayed there, remained there for 14 days, didn't leave the property and isolation, as per the rules and guidance."
Mr Shapps said he was sure Mr Cummings obeyed social distancing rules.
He said: "You'll appreciate I wasn't with them so I can't tell you exactly what that journey was like, but what I do know is that Dominic Cummings - I saw a clip yesterday of him asking journalists to be spaced two metres apart, so I know he is a stickler for those rules about what to do to make sure you are following the two-metre rule and the like, so I'm sure that they took all the necessary precautions."
Mr Shapps was unable to give details of Mr Cummings' journey or when he first showed symptoms - complaining that as Transport Secretary he couldn't be expected to know - despite having been provided with the questions 12 hours earlier.
Mr Shapps said: "He did...once they, you know, locked down, they sort of hunkered down and stayed there for 14 days."
Told that was after he travelled 260 miles, Mr Shapps said: "Well everyone has to sort of, you know, if you're going to lock down you go to the place you're going to gonna, you're gonna stay.
"And the guidance is clear, particularly where young children are involved, it says, it actually refers to young children specifically, and it says this isn't a sort of perfect science, essentially.
"The guidance says you'll take, you'll want to take steps which are practical to look after your children, or child in this particular case, which may have meant having a sister or a niece who can drop off food and that's what they did. And they remained in that place."
The guidance stated people should stay in their primary residence for lockdown, and not go to second homes even for lockdown purposes.
He claimed it was "completely untrue" that Mr Cummings had travelled "backwards and forwards" to Durham.
"When he came back to London, which was on the 14th of April," he said, "he's remained in London since, and hasn't been back to Durham."
But asked a moment later about allegations revealed in today's Mirror that Mr Cummings had been seen in nearby Barnard Castle after that date, Mr Shapps said: "I'm afraid I don't know, but if that date is true that would have been outside of the 14 day lockdown period, but I'm afraid I don't have information on that."
Lockdown rules at the time did not allow for people to leave their home for any reason except essential work or exercise - even if they were not in self-isolation with symptoms.
Mr Shapps also claimed the details of Mr Cummings' journeys weren't Boris Johnson's priority, because he was ill with coronavirus at the time.
At the time, Mr Johnson was in self-isolation, but was still running the country.
The PM's top aide was spotted in Houghall Woods a fortnight after the first sighting.
He was first spotted in Durham on April 5 while self isolating with the coronavirus.
A return to London saw him back at work on April 14. But by April 19 he was back in Durham.
On the second visit, fellow walkers spotted Mr Cummings at the local beauty spot.
The adviser – facing growing calls to quit – claimed Mr Cummings commented as he passed by: “Aren’t the bluebells lovely?”
