HARLOW MP Robert Halfon has “expressed his regrets” at tweeting in support of the prime minister’s government adviser Dominic Cummings after it was revealed the the adviser travelled from London to Durham contrary to government guidance on lockdown.

Mr Halfon said: “I would first like to make it clear to residents that I regret writing the tweet yesterday in the way I did about the Number 10 political adviser and his movements. I am really sorry for it. I do not support, or condone anyone who has broken the law or regulations. Anyone who has done so should face the consequences.

My focus will and should always be to support residents during the coronavirus outbreak, help local businesses stay afloat and work hard to back our frontline healthcare professionals who continue to save lives. It is important for everyone to follow public health advice, that includes members of the government and their advisors. If those regulations or laws have been breached there should be serious consequences.

“The tweet was wrong because many thousands of people in Harlow and across the country have suffered and struggled enormously during the coronavirus. It has caused significant pain and hardship. My tweet did not recognise that. I am sorry.

My original Tweet was aimed at the four year old child because I thought at the time that both parents had been ill with coronavirus, genuinely had no one to look after the infant – and for this reason had taken the child to their extended family to be looked after. I thought that to do this was within the regulations.

The Deputy Chief Medical Officer was asked at the daily coronavirus conference on 24 March 2020, what parents who showed symptoms of Covid-19 should do when it came to childcare. She said: “Clearly if you have adults who are unable to look after a small child, that is an exceptional circumstance.

“If the individuals do not have access to care support, formal care support or to family, they will be able to work through their local authority hubs.”

The official guidelines also define a “reasonable excuse” to leave home include providing “personal care… to a vulnerable person”.

Having said all this, if it is true as reported in today’s Sunday Newspapers that there have been breaches of the regulations by this individual, then without doubt action should be taken by the appropriate authorities. No one – whoever they are – should be above the regulations or the rule of law.

I recognise that the Labour leader of the Council – is seeking to make as much political capital as possible and misses no opportunity to score political points as, sadly, he has frequently done over the past two months, especially on social media. I reiterate my request to him to work together for the good of Harlow rather than jumping on every party political bandwagon that passes by.

When the senior Labour Labour MP Stephen Kinnock was criticised all over the news for allegedly breaking the lockdown regulations, (https://www.itv.com/news/wales/2020-03-30/police-urge-mp-stephen-kinnock-to-comply-with-coronavirus-lockdown-rules-after-visiting-dad-on-birthday/ and visited by the police, I said nothing about it. Neither did he. Nor did he send a press release to this newspaper condemning this behaviour. I said nothing because although it was a Labour MP who had apparently breached the rules, I did not want to jump on every political bandwagon that came along.

By contrast, I thank the respected former Labour leader of Harlow Council Jon Clempner – one of the finest Council Leaders Harlow has ever had – who whilst criticising my tweet in Your Harlow, wrote movingly about his unwell mother on social media. It was one of many reasons why I realised that my tweet was wrong. I wish Jon and his family all good health. He was right. I was wrong.

I and many other community figures will work together to build an even better Harlow for the future and above all, make sure that those residents suffering from health and financial anxieties are looked after as much as possible. Please contact me if you need any help or assistance. I hope very much that we can all leave home and see our loved ones soon and that this awful pandemic will be over.

“I wish every resident in Harlow and our villages every good health and safety. I will continue to work hard for all residents”.