Boris Johnson has reportedly defended under-fire aide Dominic Cummings by saying his breach of lockdown rules was not like "visiting a lover".
The PM is said to have suggested his chief-of-staff's actions were less risky than those of scientist Professor Neil Ferguson, who was forced to resign as a government advisor after his girlfriend visited him during the coronavirus lockdown.
It comes after the Mirror exclusively revealed that the Downing Street aide travelled more than 250 miles to his parents' home in Durham while fearing he had Covid-19.
No 10 has said Mr Cummings needed help with childcare after he and his wife Mary Wakefield fell ill. But calls for Mr Cummings' resignation have intensified tonight after a joint investigation by