Ruth May on being dropped from coronavirus press briefing

The Chief Nursing Officer for England has told MPs she was “dropped” from the Downing Street press briefing the day after reports broke about Dominic Cummings' journey to Durham during lockdown.

Ruth May said she had “of course” been asked during preparations for the briefing for her views on the No 10 adviser's actions and lockdown rules.

She told the Commons Public Accounts Committee it was a “regular occurrence” for her colleagues to be dropped from the daily briefings, but she did not know why she was “stepped down”.