COPS will not prosecute Dominic Cummings over his "coronavirus lockdown breach" when he travelled to Barnard Castle.

The former senior advisor to Boris Johnson had denied breaking lockdown rules last year after driving more than 200 miles from London to Durham.

Mr Cummings, who quit his role in November 2020,defended his decision to travel from London because he worried his son could not be properly taken care of when he and his wife fell ill.

Durham Police were presented with a dossier from former North west chief prosecutor Nazir Afzal over the alleged beaches.

Durham Police’s deputy chief constable Dave Orford has now written to Mr Afzal’s lawyers to inform them that they will not be taking any further action, The Mirror reported.

He states: “Durham Constabulary has considered your submissions and the allegations raised that are relevant to the force’s area of responsibility.

“We have considered all of the material provided. However, it does not change our decision from that outlined in our press release dated 28th May in respect of Mr Dominic Cummings, and we take a similar view in respect of his wife Mary Wakefield.

“We do not consider the relevant tests are made out in relation to any potential offences raised within your submission. Therefore, Durham Constabulary will be taking no further action.”

The dossier accused Mr Cummings and his wife, Mary Wakefield, ofallegedly breaking lockdown by leaving their "primary home" in London and their "second home" in Durham without a reasonable excuse.

In a statement to the press on May 25, Mr Cummings spoke at length of his round trip from London to his parents' home in Durham during the Covid-19 lockdown.

He revealed that on March 27 he had made the decision to isolate on his father's farm in Durham after his wife became ill and he believed he was also becoming sick.

He said that he felt his young child could not be properly cared for by them.

That night he said they drove the 264 miles from his London residence to Durham without making any stops.

While at his father's home, Mr Cummings, his wife and son stayed in a separate building on the land, not coming into contact with his family.

On April 2, Mr Cummings said he had left the home in Durham to travel to the nearest hospital as his child was sick but said that he had no contact with "anyone on the way".

After his family had recovered from their illnesses Mr Cummings said that they went for a walk in the woodland on his father's private land.

On April 12, which also coincides with his wife's birthday, Mr Cummings said that he hoped to return to work but wanted to test his eyesight with a 30-mile drive to a local tourist destination, Barnard Castle.

Mr Cummings said that his eyesight deteriorated from his illness over the previous two weeks.

After feeling slightly unwell, Mr Cummings said he left his car for 15 minutes before returning back to his family home in Durham.

On April 13, Mr Cummings and his family arrived back to their London residence.

It has been reported that the No10 aide had travelled to Durham a second time on April 19 with witnesses saying he and his wife were in Houghall Woods.

One resident, who was not named, claimed Mr Cummings said as he walked past: "Aren't the bluebells lovely?"

But No10 and Mr Cummings have denied the second trip to Durham stating that photos and phone data would prove it to be false.

He reiterated in his statement in the Downing Street Rose Garden that "he behaved reasonably and legally" and that he has "no regrets" about the situation.

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