DOMINIC Cummings drove to a beauty spot on his wife's birthday to 'test his eyes', he has claimed. 

The senior adviser said he had taken a trip to Barnard Castle town with his wife and young son to check he was safe to drive back to London as his eyesight had been affected by coronavirus

Mr Cummings made the trip, half an hour from where he was isolating with his family in Durham, on April 12 and drove back to London the following day.

His trip to the town was the same day as his wife, Spectator journalist Mary Wakefield, celebrated her 45th birthday. 

In an unprecedented press conference this afternoon, Mr Cummings explained: "My wife was very worried, particularly as my eyesight seemed to have been affected by the disease.

"She did not want to risk a nearly 300 mile drive with our child given how ill I had been.

"We agreed we should go for a short drive to see if I could drive safely. We drove for roughly half an hour and ended up on the outskirts of Barnard Castle town.

"We did not visit the castle, we did not walk around the town."

The aide said the group sat beside the river for 15 minutes as he felt unwell, but then drove back to the farm, stopping once at woods beside the road so his son could go to the toilet. 

Asked whether the public were expected to believe Mr Cummings' story about testing his eyes, Boris Johnson said it was plausible and his own eyesight had been affected by coronavirus.

Mr Johnson produced a pair of glasses from his jacket pocket and said: "I find I'm having to wear spectacles for the first time in years I think because of the effects of this thing, so I'm inclined to think that is very very plausible, that eyesight can be a problem associated with coronavirus."