Minister resigns in UK over Dominic Cummings' lockdown trip

A Scottish minister Douglas Ross has quit in protest on Tuesday over the controversy surrounding top aide Dominic Cummings' cross-country trip during the coronavirus lockdown.

"I have constituents who didn't get to say goodbye to loved ones; families who could not mourn together; people who didn't visit sick relatives because they followed the guidance of the government," he said in a Twitter statement announcing his departure.

"I cannot in good faith tell them they were all wrong and one senior advisor to the government was right."

He added that Cummings' interpretation of government rules was "not shared by the vast majority of people".

The resignation came after a cabinet heavyweight defended Cummings and said the controversial aide did not break the law.

Also read: Boris Johnson's top aide Cummings to face police investigation as pressure mounts

It will pile more pressure on Cummings, who held an extraordinary press conference Monday to justify driving his wife and young son on a 264-mile trip from London to Durham in the northeast of England during the height of the coronavirus crisis.

Despite calls for him to resign, Cummings has so far resisted and instead defended his actions. He told reporters he had acted "reasonably and legally".

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called Cummings' actions "plausible".

Meanwhile, the number of deaths involving COVID-19 in the UK has topped 47,000, according to the latest available data.