Crawley MP believes Dominic Cummings ‘made very poor judgements’ and must go

Boris Johnson’s chief advisor said he acted reasonably and legally by driving his family 260 miles from his home in London up north in late March.

He said he was worried both he and his wife would not be able to look after their four-year-old son if they both came down with coronavirus and wanted to be near his parents.

During that stay, Mr Cummings made a journey to nearby Barnard Castle and he explained how this was to test his eyesight was fine before making the long trip back to London.

Politicians across the spectrum have called on Mr Cummings to go, including several dozen Conservative MPs.

Responding to a constituent, Mr Smith, who has represented Crawley in Parliament since 2010, said: “We British rightly have a sense of fair play and I’ve often stated that equality under the law must apply to all, without fear or favour.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has been an unprecedented challenge for us as a nation and the world – for many, as individuals and families, it’s been very painful indeed. I’ve been immensely proud of the community attitude shown by the vast majority of people in Crawley.

“As a father myself I sympathise with Dominic Cummings’ instinct in seeking to protect his family, but the reality is that he made very poor judgements by travelling from London to County Durham during the restrictions. He certainly went against the spirit of Government advice, at the very least.

“Compassion is another trait we have as a nation but on balance his actions, especially given the position he is in, can’t be defended and they are distracting from the ongoing efforts to combat coronavirus and return our economy to normality, so I believe his departure as a Downing Street adviser must occur.”

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