Who will make call on lockdown?
♦ Questions over who is making decisions while Johnson is still in intensive care ♦ Raab acts as deputy in meetings but cannot replace ministers if they fall sick ♦ Coronavirus restrictions unlikely to be relaxed with three-week deadline due
DOMINIC RAAB has cast doubt on whether the coronavirus lockdown will be reviewed next week, amid growing questions over who is going to make key decisions while the Prime Minister remains in intensive care.
The Foreign Secretary, who is to deputise for Boris Johnson in key meetings, refused to confirm whether a decision on easing the restrictions would be taken on Easter Monday, in line with Mr Johnson’s timetable, instead saying “we’re not at that stage yet”.
Mr Raab was asked repeatedly whether he had the power to make decisions in Mr Johnson’s absence as confusion grew over the constitutional position. He said only that he had taken clear instructions from the Prime Minister and that the Cabinet was aware of the plan for tackling coronavirus.
However, Mr Raab has not spoken directly to Mr Johnson since Saturday and there is not understood to be an agreed lockdown exit strategy, with differing views among senior ministers.
Cabinet sources said that major decisions would still be taken by Mr Johnson as long as he remained able to express his wishes.
Downing Street yesterday sought to clarify the extent of Mr Raab’s powers, saying he could make decisions over security, including chairing National Security Council meetings. However, he cannot hire or fire Cabinet ministers and will not replace the Prime Minister in his weekly audience with the Queen. The situation is without a recent historical precedent. In the past, prime ministers have either resigned after serious health problems or the issue has been hidden from the public.
The Daily Telegraph understands that the Cabinet Office has guidance on what should happen if a prime minister is incapacitated, but that the document has been “classified”.
Last night, Lord Heseltine, who served as deputy prime minister under Sir John Major, called for greater clarity on Mr Raab’s powers.
“There must come a time when a deputy is effectively prime minister,” he said. “I don’t think we’ve probably quite got to that now, but the present urgency of the situation and the potential decisions that may need to be taken quickly does mean that Dominic Raab will have to use his discretion and know when to act.
“This is a very difficult thing to do because he will be surrounded by lots of people who know what Boris Johnson said, believe Boris will be quickly back and have their own personal agendas anyway, so it’s a very difficult personal position and the man will be tested by the loneliness of the job.”
The predicament is becoming increasingly urgent as the decision on whether to extend the lockdown must be taken in the coming days. When Mr Johnson announced the lockdown on March 23, he said it would be reviewed after three weeks. Medical and scientific experts believe controls may need to be kept in place for months, although economic experts warn this also carries risk.
Across Europe and in America, governments are beginning to set out plans for how and when lockdowns will be lifted. The European Commission will today set out its roadmap to return to normal life, and Germany has begun publishing expert reports.
However, in yesterday’s Downing Street press conference, Mr Raab said a review of social distancing measures would only come “once we’ve got reliable data” and only after ministers were confident the UK was “past the peak”,
which experts said may be three weeks away. Mr Raab also faced repeated questions about his own authority, saying only that he had “confidence in the arrangements Mr Johnson has put in place” rather than expressing confidence in his own ability.
Mr Raab was asked four times whether the lockdown review would still happen on Monday, but would only say: “We’re not at that stage yet.” He added: “The worst thing now would be to take our foot off the pedal.”
Another 786 deaths from coronavirus were recorded yesterday – the biggest daily figure so far – taking the total number of deaths in hospitals to 6,159.
But there was some cause for hope as the number of new confirmed cases fell to 3,634, the lowest daily increase since March 31, meaning “things might be moving in the right direction” according to Sir Patrick Vallance, the Chief Scientific Adviser.
Sir Patrick said: “It’s possible that we’re beginning to see the start of a change, where we might see numbers flattening off.”
However, in another sign that the lockdown is unlikely to be lifted on Monday, Sir Patrick added: “We won’t be sure about that for a week or so ... and we would expect the numbers of deaths to lag after the ICU cases by a couple of weeks.” He said it might be “two or three weeks” before deaths start to come down.
Asked if he had the power to authorise a “change of direction”, Mr Raab said: “I have been given a clear steer by the Prime Minister and very clear instructions ... I have got total confidence in the arrangements that the Prime Minister has put in place.” One senior minister said that if Mr Johnson had to take a lengthy period off work, and if other ministers fell ill, Mr Raab would potentially have to be given the power to appoint temporary replacements, which only the Prime Minister can do.
Senior MPS called for a formal chain of command to be established to avoid confusion over who takes charge if the Prime Minister and other members of the Cabinet are unable to carry out their duties.
A senior Whitehall source involved in drawing up the UK’S pandemic plans said: “We never planned for the Prime Minister to be taken out by a disease like this. Or for who might take over, or the exact chain of command.
“That was left up to the Cabinet Office who had some sort of secret plan for a nuclear strike, or a terrorist attack, or something of that nature.
“The problem now is that we never planned for ministers to be taken out one by one over a period of time. That has led to some confusion over who is in charge of what.”