UK PM's senior adviser Cummings considers quitting later this year: Daily Mail

(This May 28 story corrects paragraph 3 to make clear police were referring to Cummings’ trip to Barnard Castle, not his London-northern England trip)

(Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s senior adviser, Dominic Cummings, is considering quitting later this year, the Daily Mail newspaper reported.

Cummings, who faced calls from within the Conservative Party to resign for driving 250 miles (402 km) during the coronavirus lockdown, could be out in six months, the newspaper reported, citing sources.

Another trip by Cummings, a 50-mile journey to Barnard Castle, was described by local police as a breach of the coronavirus lockdown, although a minor one, the Telegraph newspaper had reported earlier on Thursday.

Cummings’ behaviour has been criticised by politicians from all major parties, but Johnson has said he wanted to move on from the topic.

Cummings, architect of the 2016 campaign to leave the European Union, came under pressure when it was reported he had travelled from London to northern England in March when his wife was ill with COVID-19 symptoms during a nationwide lockdown.

He said on Monday that he had not offered his resignation.

Cummings, who is Johnson’s close aide, had said that he should have explained the circumstances behind his journey during the lockdown earlier but that his decision to take the trip had not been a mistake.