A Durham Police investigation has concluded that Dominic Cummings did breach lockdown rules when he drove to Barnard Castle.
Mr Cummings had driven 260 miles from his home in London to stay at his parent’s estate in County Durham, stating he did so after his wife developed coronavirus symptoms and he feared his child could not be cared for if they both fell ill.
He then drove to popular beauty spot Barnard Castle so that he could check he felt well enough to drive back to London.
Mr Cummings insisted he had acted “lawfully and reasonably” at all times.
But today an investigation by Durham Police has concluded he did commit a “minor breach” of the guidelines when he drove to Barnard Castle on April 12.
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
However the force, which according to the most recent data, has issued 137 fines for lockdown breaches, said it would not be any further action against Mr Cummings.
It also stated that the initial trip was not a breach of the lockdown.
In an extraordinary press conference in the Rose Garden at Downing Street, Mr Cummings said that he, his wife and son made a trip in the car so that he could check his eyesight was good enough for him to make the drive to the capital after he had struggled with it during a bout of illness which he thought could have been coronavirus.
(Image: PA)
The force’s statement said: “Durham Constabulary have examined the circumstances surrounding the journey to Barnard Castle (including ANPR, witness evidence and a review of Mr Cummings’ press conference on 25 May 2020) and have concluded that there might have been a minor breach of the Regulations that would have warranted police intervention.
“Durham Constabulary view this as minor because there was no apparent breach of social distancing.
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
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“Had a Durham Constabulary police officer stopped Mr Cummings driving to or from Barnard Castle, the officer would have spoken to him, and, having established the facts, likely advised Mr Cummings to return to the address in Durham, providing advice on the dangers of travelling during the pandemic crisis.
“Had this advice been accepted by Mr Cummings, no enforcement action would have been taken.”
A No10 spokesman said in response: “The police have made clear they are taking no action against Mr Cummings over his self-isolation and that going to Durham did not breach the regulations.
“The Prime Minister has said he believes Mr Cummings behaved reasonably and legally given all the circumstances and he regards this issue as closed.”
The Prime Minister, the Health Secretary and other cabinet ministers have insisted that Mr Cummings’s journeys fell within the lockdown rules.
But today Durham Police have concluded that the senior aide did, in fact, breach the rules.
(Image: Phil Harris)
At an extraordinary press conference on Monday evening Mr Cummings explained why he had left the property where he was staying on his father’s estate to travel to Barnard Castle.
He said: “My wife was very worried, particularly as my eyesight seemed to have been affected by the disease,” he said.
“She did not want to risk a nearly 300 mile drive with our child given how ill I had been.
“We agreed we should go for a short drive to see if I could drive safely. We drove for roughly half an hour and ended up on the outskirts of Barnard Castle town.
“We did not visit the castle, we did not walk around the town.”
More than 35 Tory MPs have now called for Mr Cummings to quit but the Prime Minister has stood by his aide.
