Coronavirus: Michael Gove claims Dominic Cummings 'wise' to drive to Barnard Castle to test eyesight

Dominic Cummings was "wise" to make a 30-mile trip to Barnard Castle to check he was fit to drive before returning to work in London, a senior cabinet minister has said.

Michael Gove insisted that prime minister's scandal-hit chief aide had done nothing wrong as the furious row over whether he breached lockdown rules to travel more than 260 miles to his parents' house in Durham continued to rage.

In an extraordinary press conference in the Downing Street garden on Sunday, Boris Johnson's top adviser said he made the trip in March due to fears over a lack of childcare if he was struck down with coronavirus.

Mr Cummings also defended a separate trip to Barnard Castle, some 30 miles away, in April, saying his eyesight had been affected by the disease and his wife did not want to risk the long drive back to London without checking he was safe to drive first.

But asked if Mr Cummings needed to drive to make the trip, Mr Gove told Sky News: "I think he was wise to make sure he was comfortable before driving back down to London on the A1, an inevitably busier road.

• Seven charts that show the true scale of the UK coronavirus outbreak

• ‘They can blame it for everything’: What coronavirus means for Brexit

• The Americans who think that coronavirus is a hoax

• Do you need a face mask and where can you buy one?

• UK lockdown: Can I see my family and friends under new rules?

"Of course it is the case it was part of the National Police Chiefs' Council's guidance that you could drive at that time to take exercise as well."

However Mr Gove's comments caused further confusion as the lockdown rules were only relaxed to allow people to drive for exercise in May.

More follows...