Dominic Cummings was seen leaving his home in north London with his wife and son shortly after 11:00 BST.
After one journalist asked if he had returned to Durham in April, Boris Johnson’s top aide said: “No, I did not.”
Cummings, who was wearing a lanyard with an ID card, was carrying a notepad and what appeared to be a black bin bag.
The family then got in the car and drove away.
