The Member of Parliament for St Ives, West Cornwall and The Isles of Scilly has issued a statement on Dominic Cummings.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson's senior adviser Dominic Cummings has faced calls to resign after he drove from London to Durham breaching lockdown restrictions.

Derek Thomas addressed the "great interest" around Dominic Cummings, in a statement he said:

"As a parent, I can understand why he and his wife would wish to ensure their child was in good hands once they had developed coronavirus symptoms.

"However, it is clear that the situation could have been handled very differently and it is not helpful for this 'story' to consume so much Government energy at a time like this.

"In these situations, the media circus and public interest can often become as problematic as the incident itself and it is imperative that the Prime Minister retains control of the situation and I've fed this view into Government.

"Irrespective of the behaviour of one or two individuals in high office, the fact remains that it is in everyone's interest that we continue to observe the social distancing guidance and lockdown restrictions if we are to fully beat coronavirus.

"My hope is that people do not relax and think these restrictions do not matter simply because of this debacle."

Click here to see more from Derek Thomas.