A WILTSHIRE MP said that Dominic Cummings broke lockdown rules on "a number of counts" but it is up to the PM to decide if he should be fired.

In a statement, South West Wiltshire MP Dr Andrew Murrison said: "Whatever the truth or otherwise of his version of events, there remains the very real risk that his continued presence degrades credibility in the government and thus the fight against Covid-19."

He added that "for as long as Mr Cummings protests that he acted lawfully and reasonably" there is "a good case for an independent analysis of the facts".

Mr Murrison said: "Many of those who have written to me have demanded a public statement calling for Mr Cummings' dismissal. I have reflected carefully and my position is finely balanced.

"However, I have concluded that only the Prime Minister can weigh his adviser's behaviour and the impact his conduct is having on managing the pandemic with the value of Mr Cummings' anticipated future service to a government whose objectives I wholeheartedly support.

"I am not in a position to assess the need for Mr Cummings and would be uncomfortable calling for him to be dismissed without a dispassionate analysis of the evidence, facts that I am almost certainly not in full possession of."