FRESH witness reports put Dominic Cummings in Durham for a second trip during lockdown, days after being filmed in London having recovered from coronavirus.

Pressure had already been mounting on Boris Johnson to sack his chief aide after it emerged he had travelled 260 miles to his parents’ home during lockdown while displaying coronavirus symptoms.

SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford said Cummings “must be shown the door” and wrote to the head of the Civil Service calling for an immediate investigation over the “rule-breaking” and “cover-up” of his trip.

On Sunday evening it emerged in a joint investigation by the Guardian/Observer and the Sunday Mirror that a fresh witness account put Cummings in Durham in April 19 – following his earlier March 31 trip – and that he also visited a town 30 miles away while there.

Downing Street confirmed the senior adviser travelled from London to Durham in March at a time when his wife, Mary Wakefield, was displaying symptoms of Covid-19 and he feared he could have the virus. No 10 did not comment on the latest claims.

READ MORE: Backlash as Laura Kuenssberg jumps to Dominic Cummings's defence

At the time, the unequivocal instructions were to “stay at home” and that households had to self-isolate if anyone was showing any symptoms of the virus.

Yesterday a statement issued by No 10 defended Cummings’s actions, saying it was to ensure his “young child could properly be cared for” by relatives. The Prime Minister’s aide also told reporters: “I behaved reasonably and legally.”

When it was suggested to him outside his London home that the trip to Durham did not look good, Cummings replied: “Who cares about good looks? It’s a question of doing the right thing. It’s not about what you guys think.”

Senior Tories also leapt to the defence of Cummings, claiming it was fair as he been taking care of his wife and young child.

But there was a huge outcry on social media from members of the public, who pointed out they had been unable to visit loved ones in their final days or attend funerals due to obeying the restrictions.

In his letter to Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service Sir Mark Sedwill, Blackford said millions of people have made “huge sacrifices” during the last few months. He wrote: “Yet there is now clear evidence that the Prime Minister’s most senior adviser was wilfully breaking the rules.”

Blackford said an investigation must get answers to questions including when Johnson first found out about the trip, why Cummings wasn’t asked to resign or sacked at the time and why it had been “covered up” for eight weeks.

He said: “Dominic Cummings’s position is completely untenable. This is a matter of leadership and judgement for the Prime Minister who must prevent lasting damage to his government and his own reputation.

“Millions of us have made huge sacrifices over the months to obey the rules, while Boris Johnson’s most senior adviser was breaking them. There cannot be one rule for the Tory Government and another for the rest of us.

He added: “The excuses are not credible. There was absolutely nothing in the list of reasons under the law for leaving the house that allowed someone to travel the length of the country to stay with their parents, particularly not someone who was known to have the virus.”

Blackford also pointed out that the Tories had “vociferously” demanded the resignation of Scotland’s Chief Medical Officer Dr Catherine Calderwood after it emerged she had travelled to her holiday home in Fife during lockdown. He added: “As Scottish Tory leader Jackson Carlaw said at the time ‘There cannot be one rule for bosses and another for everyone else’. People are understandably questioning Boris Johnson’s judgement. He must show Dominic Cummings the door and answer for his own role.”

The Sunday National contacted the Scottish Conservatives for comment yesterday but did not receive a response.

Cabinet ministers including Dominic Raab and Rishi Sunak rallied round Cummings, with Michael Gove tweeting: “Caring for your wife and child is not a crime.”

SNP MP Amy Callaghan responded: “The fundamental point behind this is the sacrifices we’ve all made during this time to keep others safe. “Missing seeing our loved one. Missing out on weddings. On funerals. On saying goodbye. It’s the same rules for everyone. No exemptions.”

After the story initially emerged on Friday evening, the BBC’s political editor Laura Kuenssberg faced a backlash after tweeting a response citing a “source close to Cummings”.

It stated he did travel from London to County Durham when “he and his wife” had coronavirus to stay in a “separate building at his family’s farm”. The source also said it was “not true” he was spoken to by police.

The Downing Street statement issued yesterday said “at no stage was he or his family spoken to about this matter, as is being reported”. But that was contradicted by Durham Police which said officers were sent to speak to Cummings after being made aware of reports of the trip on March 31.

A statement added: “Officers made contact with the owners of that address who confirmed that the individual was present and was self-isolating in part of the house.”

And yesterday Durham’s acting police and crime and crime commissioner Steve White said Durham police had “acted appropriately” over the issue.

He said: “Given the whole ethos of the guidance and regulations issued from the Government was to reduce the spread, regardless of reason, by travelling to County Durham when known to be infected was most unwise.”

There were also conflicting reports over whether Cummings himself had symptoms of Covid-19 at the time he travelled to Durham.

A source cited by Kuenssberg on Saturday morning also suggested his sister had offered to help with childcare when “he and his wife fell ill”.

Cummings had previously written about his experience of coronavirus in the Spectator magazine, saying “at the end of March and for the first two weeks of April I was ill, so we were both shut in together.”

His wife also wrote about their experience of the disease, without mentioning Durham, saying: “I felt breathless, sometimes achy, but Dom couldn’t get out of bed.”

The Downing Street statement yesterday said: “Owing to his wife being infected with suspected coronavirus and the high likelihood that he would himself become unwell, it was essential for Dominic Cummings to ensure his young child could be properly cared for.

“His sister and nieces had volunteered to help so he went to a house near to but separate from his extended family in case their help was needed.”

Yesterday’s at the UK Government’s daily briefing on coronavirus Transport Secretary Grant Shapps was asked if Johnson knew about Cummings’s actions and had approved them – but failed to give a clear answer.

Speaking after the briefing Blackford said: “It’s quite clear after that performance today by the Transport Secretary that there is no real defence and that Dominic Cummings should now be sacked by the Prime Minister.”