A LABOUR MP apologised last night after breaking lockdown rules to be with her married lover.
Rosie Duffield, 48, admitted breaching restrictions by meeting TV director James Routh before he moved in with her.
She quit her role as an opposition whip after she saw him for a walk in April and invited him to visit her constituency home while he still lived with his wife.
Last night Canterbury MP Ms Duffield said: “My partner and I have been attempting to navigate a difficult personal situation as responsibly as possible.
“I apologise that during that process, we breached the guidelines.
“A relationship breakdown is difficult at the best of times, let alone during a pandemic.
“I hope people can understand why I took the steps I did and know that I take responsibility for the breaches that occurred and for which I apologise.”
Labour MPs privately praised her for quickly saying sorry but the revelation is embarrassing for party leader Sir Keir Starmer who last week blasted the PM’s aide
Dominic Cummings over his lockdown road trip to his parents’.
Sir Keir Starmer said he would have sacked Mr Cummings if he had been his boss.
Ms Duffield won praise from MPs last year when she revealed she had been the victim of domestic abuse.
