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Boris Johnson has tried to prevent his two top science advisers from answering questions about Dominic Cummings.
The prime minister was joined by Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer, and Patrick Vallance, the chief scientific adviser, at Thursday’s Downing Street press conference.
Durham Police concluded today Cummings “might” have breached the lockdown by driving to test his “eyesight”.
Whitty and Valance were asked if that was the “kind of example” they would want the public to follow.
But Johnson said he wanted to “interpose” himself and stop them from answering.
He said he wanted to “protect them from what I think would be an unfair and unnecessary attempt to ask any political questions”.
“It’s very, very important that our medical officers and scientific advisers do not get dragged into what I think most people would recognise is fundamentally a political argument,” the PM said.
Asked two more times, Whitty was eventually permitted to speak and said he had no “desire” to “get pulled into politics”.
And Vallance added as a civiI servant: “I don’t want to get involved in policies at all.”
It was the first appearance by the two top scientists since Cummings was revealed on Friday to have travelled to Durham from London in March.
Neither man commented on whether Cummings’ actions, which have led at least 40 Tory MPs to demand he resign, were appropriate.
The exchanges came as Johnson announced groups of up to six people from outside one household would be allowed to meet in private gardens.
The move will be a welcome boost for families and friendship groups, who until now have only been able to meet with one other person outside their household, in public spaces such as parks, while obeying social distancing rules.
“I must stress that, to control the virus, everyone must stay alert, act responsibly, strictly observe social distancing rules and stay two metres apart from those you do not live with,” said the PM.
Johnson also urged people to avoid “seeing too many people from too many households” in quick succession, but said further guidance would follow.