What the Durham force had to say...

DURHAM Constabulary does not consider that by locating himself at his father’s premises Mr Cummings committed an offence.

Officers in the force have examined the circumstances surrounding the [Easter Sunday] journey to Barnard Castle... and have concluded that there might have been a minor breach of the regulations that would have warranted police intervention.

The police view this as minor because there was no apparent breach of social distancing.

Had a police officer stopped Mr Cummings driving to or from Barnard Castle the officer would have spoken to him and having established the facts, likely advised Mr Cummings to return to the address in Durham, providing advice on the dangers of travelling during the pandemic crisis.

Treating

Had this advice been accepted by Mr Cummings no enforcement action would have been taken.

There is no intention to take retrospective action in respect of the Barnard Castle incident since this would amount to treating Mr Cummings differently from other members of the public.

Finally, commentary in the media has suggested that Mr Cummings was in Durham on April 19, 2020.

Mr Cummings denies this and Durham Constabulary have seen insufficient evidence to support this allegation.

Therefore Durham Constabulary will take no further action in this matter and has informed Mr Cummings.