Mr Cummings says "it's not just a simple matter of regulations".

"The regulations describe various exceptional circumstances where it may not be possible to follow the rules," he says.

"It doesn't say 'you should stay at home in all circumstances'. It says there are some circumstances in which you won't be able to follow those rules. And it seemed to me that I was in such exceptional circumstances."

Image source, Getty Images

The next reporter asks if those people without gardens, "never mind access to private land", had been "stupid to follow rules" when he was "looking for loopholes".

Mr Cummings says: "No, of course the public were not stupid... and I wasn't looking for loopholes.

"I was looking to do the best that I could in a complex situation, weighing up the safety of my child with getting back to work."

Pushed on how a trip to Barnard Castle would help with his work or childcare, Mr Cummings says it was a "reasonable thing to do" rather than "cracking on to do the whole trip" back to London as his eyesight had been affected by the illness.

Reality Check

Dominic Cummings has defended his actions by saying that “the rules made clear that if you are dealing with small children, then that can be exceptional circumstances”.

The stay at home guidelines, external say people who live with someone who develops symptoms "must stay at home and not leave the house for 14 days".

However, the same guidance document also says that “we are aware that not all these measures will be possible” if you are living with children.

On Friday, Dr Jenny Harries, the deputy chief medical officer for England, pointed out that "risk to life" would be a valid reason to break lockdown rules.

Back in March, Dr Harries said that if both parents were unable to look after a small child and had no access to family or other support, they should get help from the local authority.

Mr Cummings says he spoke to the prime minister about the situation "a week after it happened" but that his movements "were not really part of our conversation".

"We were talking about vaccines, we were talking about treatments... we did not spend a lot of time talking about me and where I was, and my own circumstances," he says.

The next reporter asks about Dominic Cummings "blaming the media" for "the mess you have got the government into", but says it was he who broke the rules.

Mr Cummings disagrees that he has "broken the spirit" of the rules.

He says that when he left London, his wife did not have a cough or fever, but was ill and had thrown up.

"We didn't know whether or not she had Covid," he answers.

The walk in the woods he took "was on private land", he adds, saying he "did not leave the property - it was perfectly reasonable behaviour".

Mr Cummings also confirms he never offered his resignation to Boris Johnson.

Jonathan Blake
BBC political correspondent

Dominic Cummings has given a detailed account of what he did, when and why. So what have we learned from his side of the story?

He described the fact that his London home had become a “target” which led him to fear for the safety of his family.

Mr Cummings also admitted not telling the prime minister about his decision to decide to travel to his parent’s property in Durham.

He explained some of the uncertainties about his movements including what he was doing in Barnard Castle (to test his eyesight for driving) and whether he stopped on the journey from London (he didn’t).

But on several occasions Mr Cummings described the “exceptional circumstances” of providing care for a small child, which he believed the guidelines allow.

He acknowledged that people were angry and “hated the idea of unfairness” - and admitted that he should’ve made a statement sooner.

But this was an explanation for his actions, not an apology.

It will be for people to judge whether they accept it as a justification for what many see as acting against the spirit, if not the letter of the rules.

Asked about concerns from some organisations that his actions could encourage people to act as their "personal circumstances allow", Mr Cummings says: "I think they're right to be worried that the coverage in the last couple of days could encourage people to behave in certain ways.

"But... they made those comments without knowing what had actually happened," he adds. "That's one of the reasons why I think now it would have been better to have made this statement earlier. But as it was, well, I didn't."

The UK PM's top aide is pushed again about why he isn't resigning.

"A lot of that anger is based on reports in the media that have not been true," Mr Cummings says.

He adds that it is "extremely regrettable, but the media who were reporting these things were told they were wrong and reported them anyway".

Mr Cummings says it has "caused a lot of anger" and "people have shouted at me in the street".

But on the issue of the need to ask the PM about whether he should have gone, he says Boris Johnson had "a lot on his plate" and "the honest truth about my job is there are endless problems all day long", so he can't check everything.

"Maybe I should have done. The PM's time is just about the most valuable commodity in the government."

Mr Cummings says the lockdown rules "talk about exceptional circumstances with small children".

"I was trying to weigh up on that Friday night conflicting things between what happens if we're both ill? Who's going to look after my son? What's the safest way of doing that? Is there a way I might be able to go back to work the following week if the whole testing system changes?" he says.

"I was trying to weigh all those things up. Given that, I don't believe I broke the rules."

Sky's Beth Rigby asks why Dominic Cummings thinks he is so different to "thousands of ordinary families" and if he owes them an apology.

"I don't think I am so different," he says.

"I think that I looked at the guidance, I knew what it was, it talks about exceptional circumstances with small children... and I think I behaved responsibly and legally."

Dominic Cummings says he "stayed away" from his parents while in Durham and that he has been with his wife since they returned to London.

"I'm not exactly sure where the boundaries of London are, but as far as I'm aware the only time I've left London since Tuesday, 14 April, was to go to Chequers [for a meeting with the prime minister]," he says.

Laura Kuenssberg asks if he has exploited a "loophole" in the rules and if he understood why people were angry.

"I certainly do," Mr Cummings replied. "After some of the media over the last couple of days I am not surprised you are very angry if you are someone sitting at home watching the media over last three days.

"But I think and hope that today explained all the circumstances about a complicated, tricky situation."

He says it may have been a "mistake" not to tell the PM on the Friday night when he decided to leave, adding he has "thought a lot over this period what I could have done better in dealing with the whole crisis".

"There are lot of things I could have done better but in these 14 days [my actions were] reasonable."

The BBC's Laura Kuenssberg asks if Dominic Cummings regrets what he did.

He answers he doesn't.

"I think what I did was actually reasonable in these circumstances," says Mr Cummings.

He says "in terms of the rules", dealing with small children was an "exceptional circumstance".

"The way that I dealt with it was the least risk to everybody concerned," he adds.

Mr Cummings says that stories in the media had suggested he opposed lockdown - but that he had "argued for it".

He says stories in the media had "created a very bad atmosphere around my home" - making it a "target - and that he worried about "the possibility of leaving my wife and child at home all day ... while I worked at No 10".

He adds that driving to the "isolated cottage" in County Durham - which he says does not have neighbours in the "normal sense - was the "best thing to do".

Cummings said on 11 April "some people saw us from a distance", but the couple had not left the land of the property.

By that date, he said he was hoping to return to work the following week, and sought medical advice.

He says he was told it was safe to do so.

He and his wife then spoke and "agreed we should go for a short drive" to see if he could manage it.

Cummings says the pair "ended up on the outskirts of Barnard Castle" but denies they "walked around the town".

However, when he "felt a bit sick", they walked "10 or 15 minutes" from the car and sat down.

His wife said "happy Easter" to someone, but there were no other interactions.

Mr Cummings confirms he did not consult the prime minister before travelling to County Durham.

"I did not ask the prime minister about the decision, he was ill himself and he had huge problems to deal with," he says.

"I thought that I would speak to him when the situation clarified in the coming days," he adds - regarding his own symptoms and whether or not he could get tested.

He adds that "arguably this was a mistake" and that he understands some may say he should have spoken to the PM.

Cummings explains the chronology of events beginning on 26 March and how a day later he was at 10 Downing Street when his wife told him she had symptoms.

He says he returned home, being filmed "running to the car".

"She told me she suddenly felt badly ill and she had vomited and felt like she might pass out," he says.

After a couple of hours, his wife felt better and he returned to work.

But on returning home, he "discussed the situation with my wife" and concluded, due to the PM and numerous people in No 10 contracting the coronavirus, there was a "distinct probability I had already caught the disease".

After a 30 minute delay, Dominic Cummings begins his press conference by giving reporters an apology for being late.

The PM's special adviser reads from a statement, saying he gave a full account to the prime minister for his actions, but says the PM asked him to do it.

"I know that millions of people have been suffering and thousands have died," he says.

"In retrospect, I should have made this statement earlier."

The UK PM's chief adviser Dominic Cummings has just started speaking.

This statement follows allegations that he broke lockdown rules by travelling 260 miles with his family to be near relatives when his wife developed coronavirus symptoms.

PM Boris Johnson has attempted to draw a line under the row - but MPs have continued to call for Mr Cummings' dismissal.

Dominic Cummings was confronted by the media as he left his London home on Monday morning. They wanted to know whether he broke lockdown rules.