"I think actually it would not be doing my job if I were now to shuffle this problem off to the hands of officials,who believe me are working flat out to deal with coronavirus."
Johnson also hit back at his own backbenchers who have argued the affair will undermine the public's adherence to social distancing measures. A new poll in Britain shows 65 per cent of respondents think the furore over Cummings driving his coronavirus-stricken family 400 kilometres from London to northern England will make the public less likely to adhere to the rules.
In a terse exchange,Tory MP Simon Hoare told the Prime Minister that the public would struggle to accept any new lockdown should the rate of infection rise as the economy reopens.
"My inbox tells me that as a result of the last few days,the response of the British people is going to be far less energetic than it was the first time around,and that is the direct result of the activities of your senior adviser,"Hoare told his party leader.
"You're right to say we know what your views are but frankly Prime Minister I don't think anybody understands why you hold those views. So what do we say to our constituents who are likely to say'you can keep your lockdown if it has to come back,if other people don't abide by it why on Earth should we?'."