On 25 April Cummings' wife was broadcast on BBCR4 talking about her family's experience of the virus. I heard it and was a little surprised at her getting air time but sorry as it sounded awful.

My memory was of an impression that the family were in London throughout this experience. I do not remember any mention of a road trip to Durham for support.

I just tried to find the broadcast on the radio 4 website with no success. But I did find a newspaper report that said it aired on 25th April. there was a transcript which I think is very similar to her spectator article.

In the article she says she became ill with the virus & within 24-hours her husband said he felt weird & collapsed. For the next 10 days he suffered severe symptoms including muscle spasms & shortness of breath. It sounded as if he could hardly lift his head from the pillow

At no point did she mention that day were concerned about their child's welfare and needed additional help. It sounds as if neither of them was in any fit state to drive to Durham.

There was some wry humour about coping with a 4-year old in these circumstances; the sort of account that might have been enhanced by a tale of struggling with a 200 mile car trip with two sick parents and a child in the back of the car.

But no car journey was mentioned.

While it may or may not be the case that in the small print of the regulations there is some get out for the Cummings family, which perhaps only a few people had got as far as to read, something doesn't feel right about the way they have handled this.

And he must have acted quickly given that the virus literally floored him within a day of his wife becoming ill.

And she says he began to feel better around the time Johnson sent into hospital, which was 5 April.