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Dominic Cummings agreed to speak to the press on Monday at 4pm to address his latest controversy of allegedly breaking coronavirus lockdown rules. Dominic Cummings travelled from London to

County Durham to self-isolate with his family in March despite the stringent lockdown rules in place. Boris Johnson addressed the issue in the Sunday Press conference and defended his top

aide's actions. In his statement on Monday afternoon, Mr Cummings explained his reasoning for travelling with his family to self-isolate on a family farm rather than his London home. 

He claimed that he was fearful for his safety and that of his family after receiving threats. He said: "There were stories saying I opposed lockdown and didn’t care about many deaths.

“For years I’d warned of the danger of pandemics. Last year I wrote about the danger of pandemics and the need for planning. DON'T MISS: SUSIE DENT: COUNTDOWN STAR SPARKS FRENZY IN

'DOMINIC CUMMINGS JIBE' “I’d argued for lockdown and not opposed it. “But these stories had created a bad atmosphere around my home. I was subject to threats of violence and there

were posts on social media encouraging attacks and media reports showing my house. "I was also worried, given the severity of the emergency, the situation would get worse. "I was

worried about the possibility of leaving my wife and child at home all day, late into the night, while I worked in No 10. "As I said, and reasonable people may disagree, about how I

thought about what to do in these circumstances. "In terms of the rules, they made clear that if you are dealing with small children that can be exceptional circumstances. "I think

the situation I was in was exceptional circumstances and I think the way I dealt with it was the least risk to everybody concerned if me and my wife were unable to look after our

4-year-old." _ _