BORIS Johnson appeared not entirely certain on Tier 2 lockdown rules as he directed a confused dad to "just check the website".
The Prime Minister couldn't quite provide a conclusive answer this afternoon after a member of the public asked if he could see his son in another county.
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Christopher from Margate asked: "What is the government guidance to single parents with regular contact with their children who live in a different county?
"I live in Kent, and my son lives in Essex. What should I do regarding contact if Essex or Kent were to be put in a higher Covid alert level and the other was to remain in Medium?"
Mr Johnson tried his best to give an answer, but in the end told Christopher to look it up online to be sure.
He said: "Well, Christopher I think the guidance is, alas, is that you should go on the website and check.
"When places go into a higher tier from the basic medium then there are restrictions on household contact, alas, so, depending on how you define your household you may find their are restrictions.
"But you really need to go onto the website to see where and what's going on in Kent and what's going in Essex in order to be absolutely sure."
Essex will be in Tier 2 from midnight tonight, with Kent remaining in Tier 1.
Since the three-tier system was brought in two regions will be in Tier 3, and eight more areas have moved into Tier 2.
Today it was confirmed Lancashire will join Liverpool in Tier 3 under the harshest restrictions at 12.01am.
CHOPPING AND CHANGING
And Greater London, Erewash, Elmbridge, North East Derbyshire, Barow in Furness, Chesterfield and York will be rolled into Tier 2 from midnight today.
With the rules constantly changing for millions of Brits, it can be difficult to keep up with what you can officially do in your area – with the PM referring back to the trusty Government website.
Last month Mr Johnson was forced into a humiliating apology after getting muddled by his own Covid rules.
The PM gave duff advice about the lockdown in the North East, seemingly confused at when and where he had outlawed boozing.
He got muddled over the 'rule of six' – wrongly saying it didn't apply outside.
His gaffe came after a bungling minister made the same mistake — sparking calls from colleagues to “get a grip or simplify what we are telling people”.
The PM has faced a rebellion from Greater Manchester leaders over the past few days, as he tries to work with them to put the region into Tier 3.
And this afternoon he turned up the heat on mayor Andy Burnham for not agreeing to the more severe lockdown – saying the restrictions are about "saving lives".
He said: "The levels of infection are rising steeply, the level of infections are rising steeply, and we do need to see action (in Manchester).
"I'd much rather not impose things, I'd much rather work things out with the local authorities with the Mayor in Manchester, but it's up to the local leaders to show the kind of leadership we've seen in Liverpool, Lancashire and London."
Mr Burnham is leading the resistance against these tougher measures – but it is understood the city will be forced into Tier 3 against his wishes if necessary.
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