Epping Forest’s MP says it is “difficult to understand” why Dominic Cummings is not considering resigning after his lockdown trip to Durham.

Dame Eleanor Laing, who has represented Epping Forest since 1997, says it would have been better if Boris Johnson’s chief advisor had “apologised for the consternation that he has caused”, whether or not the trip with his family in March was within lockdown guidelines or not.

Ms Laing has also shared her views over the trip "in private" to the Prime Minister.

Mr Cummings drove 260 miles to Durham with his wife and son on March 27, while his wife was displaying Covid-19 symptoms, to ‘seek childcare’ from his parents.

The PM’s senior adviser also drove 30-minutes from his parents’ home to Barnard Castle – which he explained as a trip to test his vision before returning to London for work.

Following an unprecedented press conference given by Cummings, Independent Loughton councillor Stephen Murray wrote to Ms Laing asking: “Should I now be advising my constituents to follow the Government guidelines and rules or go with their instincts as parents?

“I know a fair few residents in my ward who are absolutely furious about the apparent double standards as regards the PM’s chief adviser, several of them stopped me this evening during my regular exercise to express their anger.

“To paraphrase their words to me they felt that they had made real family sacrifices by following the rules such as missing births , not seeing elderly parents, not attending funerals but it was alright for Mr Cummings to follow his instincts and certainly break the spirit of the lockdown rules if not the precise letter of the law.”

Now, Ms Laing has revealed her stance on Mr Cummings' actions.

She said: "It is not surprising that so many people are angry about the course of action followed by the Prime Minister's Special Adviser, Dominic Cummings.  

“It is difficult to understand why Mr Cummings has said that he has not considered resigning. Whether or not his actions were strictly within the guidelines, it would have been better if he had apologised for the consternation that he has caused.

“I fully appreciate that the vast majority of people throughout our country have made sacrifices, and some of them very significant sacrifices,​ in their personal lives, family lives, and working lives in order to ensure that the spread of the virus is kept under control. My heart goes out to them.

“I have expressed my own view in private to the Prime Minister and have made sure that he is aware of the very strong views expressed to me by a large number of Epping Forest residents."