Johnson in intensive care
• Prime Minister moved near ventilator after coronavirus symptoms worsen • Business will continue, says Raab as he stands in while leader receives treatment • Well-wishes from Cabinet and political rivals as Queen is informed of situation
BORIS JOHNSON was last night moved to intensive care after his coronavirus symptoms worsened.
The Prime Minister was admitted to the unit at St Thomas’ Hospital in London at 7pm when his condition deteriorated.
He was later given oxygen after suffering breathing difficulty, No 10 confirmed.
Mr Johnson remained conscious last night, government sources said.
Dominic Raab, the Foreign Secretary, will deputise for the Prime Minister, No10 said.
A Downing Street spokesman said: “Since Sunday evening, the Prime Minister has been under the care of doctors at St Thomas’ Hospital in London, after being admitted with persistent symptoms of coronavirus.
“Over the course of this afternoon, the condition of the Prime Minister has worsened and, on the advice of his medical team, he has been moved to the Intensive Care Unit at the hospital.
“The PM has asked the Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, who is the First Secretary of State to deputise for him where necessary. The PM is receiving excellent care, and thanks all NHS staff for their hardwork and dedication.”
Mr Johnson’s admission to St Thomas’ Hospital on Sunday came more than a week after he tested positive for Covid-19.
Earlier yesterday, he posted on Twitter that he was in “good spirits” while aides insisted he remained in charge of the country from his hospital bed.
However, hours later his symptoms worsened and his medical team decided to move him into the intensive care unit at around 7pm.
The decision to move patients to intensive care is reserved for the most serious cases. Early data has suggested that only 50 per cent of coronavirus patients in critical care survive.
Carrie Symonds, Mr Johnson’s partner, is thought to have been unable to visit him since he was admitted.
Ms Symonds is pregnant with the couple’s first child and has been selfisolating after suffering symptoms of the virus herself.
Donald Trump said last night that he had asked two therapeutics companies to contact the Prime Minister’s doctors.
The US president said: “We’ll see if we can be of help. We’ve contacted all of Boris’s doctors and we’ll see what is going to take place, but they [the companies] are ready to go. We are working with London with respect to Boris Johnson.”
Last night, political colleagues offered their support to Mr Johnson.
Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor, said: “My thoughts tonight are with Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds. I know he’ll be getting the best care possible and will come out of this even stronger.”
David Cameron, the former prime minister, wrote on Twitter: “Thinking of Boris Johnson and his family tonight. Get well soon. You are in great hands and we all want you safe, well and back in 10 Downing Street.”
Sajid Javid, the former chancellor, said: “Boris is one of the strongest people I know. Thinking of him, Carrie and his family tonight. Get well soon, the country needs you.”
Sir Keir Starmer, the new Labour leader, said: “Terribly sad news. All the country’s thoughts are with the Prime Minister and his family during this incredibly difficult time.”
Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour leader, said his thoughts were with Mr Johnson and his family, adding: “Thanks to the NHS staff for their hard work and dedication.”
Tracey Crouch, the Tory MP, wrote: “Come on B, you got this. You can beat this. My love goes out to Carrie this evening.”
Conor Burns, the international trade minister who previously served as Mr Johnson’s parliamentary private secretary, posted: “You are a fighter and we need you back.”
Emmanuel Macron, the French president, tweeted his support and wished Boris Johnson a speedy recovery.
Buckingham Palace said the Queen was being kept informed of the Prime Minister’s condition.
Before his move to ICU, Mr Johnson’s aides had said that he was working from his hospital bed and having his red box of official business brought to him.
He even posted a message from the hospital saying: “I’m in good spirits and keeping in touch with my team, as we work together to fight this virus and keep everyone safe. I’d like to say thank you to all the brilliant NHS staff taking care of me and others in this difficult time. You are the best of Britain.”
Mr Johnson was first diagnosed with coronavirus on Mar 26 and continued to carry out Cabinet meetings via video-link and updated the public on his condition through a series of online video messages.
He was last seen in public on Thursday night when he applauded NHS workers.
Cabinet colleagues had urged Mr Johnson to rest and focus on his recovery.
“He could probably do with one less red box a day,” one minister said, adding: “He could spend a couple of days just sleeping. If urgent decisions need taking he can take them, but I would say take it a bit more slowly.”
Mr Raab, who is Mr Johnson’s de facto deputy, last night said he had not spoken to Mr Johnson since Saturday.
Yesterday’s Downing Street press conference was dominated by questions about the Prime Minister’s health and his ability to run the country from hospital.
Mr Raab, who took the press conference and chaired the Government’s daily “war cabinet”, said: “He’s in charge, but he’ll continue to take doctors’ advice on what to do next.”
Mr Raab said the Prime Minister had been receiving “excellent care” in hospital, adding: “The Government’s business will continue.”
‘The condition of the Prime Minister has worsened and he has been moved to the Intensive Care Unit’
51,608 CORONAVIRUS CASES IN UK
5,373 DEATHS +8.89%
‘Get well soon. You are in great hands and we all want you safe, well and back in 10 Downing Street’
DOMINIC RAAB was last night given the task of leading the UK’S response to the coronavirus crisis after Boris Johnson was admitted to intensive care.
Just hours after stating that the Prime Minister remained in charge of the Government, the Foreign Secretary was asked to take over “where necessary” in Mr Johnson’s absence.
Speaking after the announcement last night, Mr Raab reassured the public that ministers and officials were continuing to carry out instructions issued by the Prime Minister.
He added: “The Government’s business will continue. The Prime Minister is in safe hands with that brilliant team at St Thomas’s Hospital, and the focus of the Government will continue to be on making sure that the Prime Minister’s direction, all the plans for making sure that we can defeat coronavirus and can pull the country through this challenge, will be taken forward.
“There’s an incredibly strong team spirit behind the Prime Minister, making sure that we get all of the plans the Prime Minister’s instructed us to deliver, to get them implemented as soon as possible.
“And that’s the way it will bring the whole country through the coronavirus challenge that we face right now.”
Mr Raab, who as First Secretary of State is the first in the line of succession, had already been entrusted with chairing the daily “War Cabinet” tasked coordinating the response to the pandemic.
In a statement released last night, Downing Street said that Mr Raab had been asked to “deputise where necessary”, suggesting that a full handover may not have taken place yet.
However, with Mr Johnson remaining conscious, it remains unclear as to whether his most significant powers, such as issues of national security, had been transferred to Mr Raab.
Leading the daily Downing Street press conference yesterday afternoon, Mr Raab said that a team of ministers and Whitehall officials were working “full throttle” to carry out the instructions of Mr Johnson from his hospital bed at St Thomas’s, central London.
But when asked whether he had taken over Mr Johnson’s “security responsibilities”, Mr Raab declined to comment.
“We are getting on with all of the various strands of work to make sure at home and abroad we can defeat the virus and pull the country through coronavirus and the challenges that undoubtedly we’re facing at the moment,” Mr Raab said.
Earlier, Mr Raab said he had not spoken to the Prime Minister since Saturday but it is understood the pair communicated shortly before Mr Johnson was taken into the ICU when Mr Johnson asked Mr Raab to deputise.
The UK’S undefined chain of command stands in contrast to the United States, where it is set out in the constitution.
The powers and responsibilities of the US vice president are clearly defined, whereas in the UK the office of deputy prime minister has not been used since Nick Clegg entered into the coalition with David Cameron in 2010.
Even before the Prime Minister’s admission to hospital, the confusion had already given rise to reports of infighting among Cabinet ministers, with allies of Michael Gove, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, suggesting that he was next in line.
As the coronavirus outbreak escalated, Downing Street foresaw the potential constitutional dilemma and began drawing up a “designated successor” plan” with Mr Raab nominated as first recipient.
But even last night, the extent of his powers remained uncertain, with Dr Catherine Haddon, a senior fellow at the Institute for Government, indicating that some powers could be distributed to a number of Cabinet ministers.
“The power would derive from the Prime Minister saying who he wants ministries to respond to,” she told The
Daily Telegraph. These could include authority over the UK’S national security apparatus, such as control of the nuclear launch codes.
“Certainly in the Cold War and the years after, prime ministers would authorise nuclear deputies who were named Cabinet ministers, who in the event of something happening would then be called upon if the prime minister was in that moment unavailable.
“It’s not so much like America where they have to carry the nuclear codes around, it’s just making sure there is a chain of command if the Prime Minister were not available at that moment.”
Dr Haddon also indicated that oversight of Britain’s intelligence agencies could become a shared ministerial responsibility.
“MI5 reports to the Home Secretary, MI6 and GCHQ report to the Foreign Secretary, so there are still lines of communication,” she said.
“The Prime Minister deals with them all directly and gets daily intelligence briefings, but so do other Cabinet ministers, who also have some degree of oversight powers. The Prime Minister is the ultimate authority, but that doesn’t mean he’s the only one who engages with them.”