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An MP has broken his silence over the action of Dominic Cummings, claiming the PM's senior advisor made a misjudgement and should have made a "sincere apology".
Tunbridge Wells MP Greg Clark, however, said he was not convinced Mr Cummings' resignation was best for the country during this national emergency.
Since early last week, Mr Clark had been asked to make his stance on the Cummings row clear.
The political strategist admitted travelling to Durham with his family, to be with his parents, arguing it was for childcare reasons when quizzed on whether he had breached lockdown rules.
More than 40 Conservative MPs, including Kent members, called for Mr Cummings' resignation following the revelation, but Prime Minister Boris Johnson, stood by his advisor.
In a letter sent on Friday, the former business secretary said 'many constituents' had contacted him about the issue and he acknowledged the "great personal sacrifices" made during lockdown.
He went on: "I completely understand the dismay that a Number 10 adviser exercised his own judgement in interpreting the rules in a way that others didn’t think was open to them.
"Let me be clear that I think Mr Cummings made a misjudgement, and I believe that at the outset he should have made a sincere apology and that the Prime Minister should have accepted it, acknowledging publicly that a mistake has been made.
"We are all human, people can make errors of judgement under stress, and I’m sure the family were genuinely worried about their situation.
"I remember the anxieties as a young parent when my children were infants if we fell sick when we were hundreds of miles away from any other family members.
"However, it was a misjudgement. Dominic Cummings badly underestimated the strong sense of solidarity we have all have with each other, that has been so striking during this crisis, and the pain of people who have had to endure heartbreaking separation from their own loved ones, sometimes at the end of their lives.
'Dominic Cummings badly underestimated the strong sense of solidarity we all have with each other...'
"It is essential that all the attention of the government must be concentrated on the complex and difficult decisions to be taken during the days and weeks ahead, and Mr Cummings has caused a serious diversion from that.
"The most important thing in this national emergency is that the right steps are taken to save lives, to care for people’s needs and to give people hope for the future.
"I’m not convinced that the upheaval resulting from a resignation of the Prime Minister’s most senior adviser would be consistent with that.
Mr Clark said he would tell the Mr Johnson about the "depth of offence" caused.
