BORIS Johnson is under renewed pressure to sack Dominic Cummings after reports surfaced that the 48-year-old made a second trip to County Durham, where his family lives, despite social restrictions.

Conservative MP Steve Baker, a prominent member of the 1922 Committee of backbench Tories, said the Prime Minister has no option but to dismiss his chief adviser.

He tweeted: "It is intolerable that Boris' government is losing so much political capital. Three changes are immediately required: 1 – Govt needs competitive expert advice 2 – Govt must insist on high software engineering standards 3 – Dominic Cummings must go."

READ MORE: Dominic Cummings 'made SECOND Durham trip' during virus lockdown

Baker was the first Tory MP to break ranks and call for the adviser to be sacked. But he was soon joined by Folkestone and Hythe MP Damian Collins.

He tweeted: "Dominic Cummings has a track record of believing that the rules don’t apply to him and treating the scrutiny that should come to anyone in a position of authority with contempt. The government would be better without him."

Further calls for the PM to sack his adviser were issued by Conservative MPs Simon Hoare and Sir Roger Gale.

Speaking on the Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme, Baker said it was time for Cummings to go.

"If he doesn't resign, we'll just keep burning through Boris's political capital at a rate we can ill afford in the midst of this crisis," he commented.

"It is very clear that Dominic travelled when everybody else understood Dominic's slogans to mean 'stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives'.

"And I think mums and dads who very much care about their children and who have been forgoing the childcare of their extended family will wonder why he has been allowed to do this.

"I really just don't see, as we approach the Prime Minister [appearing] at the liaison committee on Wednesday, how this is going to go away unless Dominic goes."

The National: Conservative MP Steve Baker was the first to break ranks and criticise Dominic CummingsConservative MP Steve Baker was the first to break ranks and criticise Dominic Cummings

Baker said Johnson needs a chief adviser who is not the subject of scandalous headlines.

“He creates an awful lot of collateral damage ... he goes a little bit too far and attacks institutions and people,” the Tory MP said.

He went on to say: “Dominic does thing which I do not approve. They are effective but they go too far.”

Baker added: “As far as I can tell the only person in politics he respects is Michael Gove.

"Secretaries of state, members of the government, of course they serve in the government in a sense at Dominic's pleasure. I think everybody's very clear that if you displease Dominic you'd be leaving the government and being briefed against as well."

He said that Cummings’ actions meant the UK Government’s lockdown rules had been effectively "repealed” – though he insisted that people should still stick to them.

Johnson has pledged his "full support" to the former Vote Leave chief, who it emerged had travelled 260 miles to the north east of England in March to self-isolate with his family while official guidelines warned against long-distance journeys.

According to the Sunday Times, the Conservative Party leader told allies he would not throw Cummings "to the dogs" following reports he made the journey to ensure his four-year-old child could be looked after as he and his wife were ill.

READ MORE: Dominic Cummings: Tory tweets show why adviser must go

But according to reports in the Observer and Sunday Mirror, the former Vote Leave campaign co-ordinator made a second trip to Durham and was seen there on April 19 – five days after being photographed on his return to Westminster.

A second eyewitness told the two papers they saw him a week earlier in Barnard Castle on Easter Sunday, a popular tourist location 30 miles away from Durham, during the period he was believed to be self-isolating.

Downing Street has said it would "not waste time" replying to the fresh allegations from "campaigning newspapers".