Downing Street said Boris Johnson commuted between Chequers and No 10 during March 2020 as his wife was pregnant and it was safer for the couple to be away from London.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman was asked about reporting by news website Tortoise that alleged Mr Johnson had commuted between his country residence and No 10 between March 16 and 27, 2020, when guidance said people should not travel for non-essential reasons.
He said: “At the time, as you know, Mrs Johnson was heavily pregnant and had been placed in a vulnerable category and advised to minimise social contacts, so in line with clinical guidance and to minimise the risk to her they were based at Chequers during that period, with the Prime Minister commuting to Downing Street to work.”
The spokesman said there would have been staff at Chequers with the couple.
He said the guidance on not travelling to second homes did not come in until March 22, “at which point the Prime Minister and his wife were already based in Chequers, acting in line with clinical guidance”.
Asked if the PM was therefore putting his wife at risk by commuting during the period, the spokesman said: “The Prime Minister was leading the coronavirus response, the pandemic response, and in line with a number of individuals who were required to still be in work… that’s why the Prime Minister was coming to No 10 for necessary work meetings.”
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