Alastair Campbell breaks social distancing rules for selfie with 'Speedo Mick'

Alastair Campbell has apologised after he was caught breaking social distancing rules by posing for a selfie during an early morning swim.

The ex-Labour spin doctor has laid into the Government over it’s handling of the Dominic Cummings affair, referring to ministers as ‘spineless’ for supporting the senior advisor over an alleged breach of the Government’s own ‘stay at home’ guidance.

This morning, Mr Campbell posted a picture to Twitter of himself with charity fundraiser ‘Speedo Mick’, after taking a dip in Hyde Park’s Serpentine lake. The pair were stood together for the selfie, in breach of the two metre distancing rule.

He deleted the picture after being accused of hypocrisy for spending days criticising Boris Johnson’s chief aide for breaking lockdown rules to drive from London to Durham.

But it was picked up by the Guido Fawkes blog who accused Tony Blair’s former campaign director of standing too close to Mick Cullen, an Everton fan known for travelling to football grounds around the country wearing only budgie smugglers to raise money for charity.

Visit our live blog for the latest updates: Coronavirus news live

Mr Campbell admitted the breach and told his Twitter followers it was a ‘definite breach of social distancing’.

‘Hands up! Too slow as fans flocked around taking pics of pecs as I went for my swim,’ he said.

‘I apologise unreservedly for this lapse. If I still held a public position I would offer my resignation to the PM immediately.’

He later posted a video where he jokingly explained: ‘A lapse of concentration, broke the social distancing laws, so I’ve offered my resignation to the prime minister.

‘I think it’s absolutely right, no matter how small the breach, I think you’ve got to do that.

‘Fiona my partner was there, she tried to get me to drive to the North of England but the kids said “no, no you can’t do that – that’s in breach of the rules”.’

Mr Campbell reacted furiously to Mr Cummings’ appearance in the Downing Street rose garden on Monday, at which the PM’s aide refused to apologise for seemingly flouting coronavirus restrictions.

He told the cabinet to ‘do one’ in an outspoken interview with Sky News, then listed all the ways he believed the Government had failed to act on in another fiery appearance on the BBC.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.