Johnson isolating after Covid warning
PM’S confinement following contact with infected MP overshadows agenda ‘reset’
BORIS JOHNSON has entered 14 days of self-isolation after coming into contact with an MP who has coronavirus, throwing his plans for a “reset” of his Downing Street operation into disarray.
The Prime Minister had intended to set out his “personal ambition” for the country this week as he sought to regain the initiative in the wake of the turmoil in No 10.
Instead, he must spend the next fortnight in his Downing Street flat, cut off from his staff and unable to make public appearances. He must also oversee the final days of Brexit trade deal negotiations while self-isolating.
Mr Johnson was contacted by NHS Test and Trace yesterday and told that Lee Anderson, the Tory MP for Ashfield, who attended a meeting in Downing Street on Thursday, had tested positive for Covid-19.
The Prime Minister will not be able to get a coronavirus test because he does not have any symptoms, leaving him having to self-isolate for 14 days unless he falls ill.
The news will raise fresh questions about the mandatory self-isolation policy, as the Prime Minister has already had Covid-19 and there are so far very few cases of people getting it twice.
It also put Downing Street’s antivirus measures under scrutiny, as it claims to be a Covid-secure workplace but Mr Johnson was nevertheless in proximity to a small group of visitors during the 35-minute meeting.
Last night, in a message to Tory MPS, Mr Johnson said: “Evening folks – the good news is that NHS Test and Trace continues to improve. The bad news is that I have been pinged!” He went on: “I must now self isolate for 14 days, and I will! It doesn’t matter that we were all following the guidance and socially distancing. It doesn’t matter that I feel fine – better than ever – or that my body is bursting with antibodies because I have already had the damn thing. The rules are the rules and they are there to stop the spread of the disease.”
He said it would not “slow me down” and was “more confident than ever that we will end these exceptional measures on Dec 2 and continue to pummel Covid into submission”.
He also thanked Mr Anderson “for being so punctilious and effective in identifying his contacts even if it means my temporary incarceration”.
A No 10 spokesman said Mr Johnson was well and did not have symptoms but would “follow the same rules that every other member of the public is asked to abide by”. He intends to carry on “speaking to the country”, suggesting he could take part in a press conference this week from his flat.
The Prime Minister is also expected to take part remotely in some parliamentary business but will be unable to attend Prime Minister’s Questions for the next two Wednesdays.
The news is a blow to his planned relaunch of his Government as he tries to move on from the feuding that led to the resignation of Dominic Cummings.
Mr Johnson is due to make a green industrial revolution the centrepiece of a s eries of announcements t hat included what No 10 called “a clear signal of his ongoing ambitions” for the UK. It also said this would include “plans to tackle the pandemic, as well as to level up opportunity across the country, invest in education, improve skills,
create jobs, and build back better and greener from the pandemic”.
Today marks the first time since he became Prime Minister that Mr Johnson will be without Mr Cummings, or Lee Cain, who also resigned last week after losing a bitter internal power struggle. The last time Mr Johnson self-isolated he was heavily reliant on Mr Cain.
Senior Tories want Mr Johnson to use the opportunity to “reset” his Government and explain his overall vision for the Conservative Party.
He was due to try to soften its image with a 10-point plan for a green industrial revolution, opening him to accusations that Carrie Symonds, his fiancée, who was instrumental in Mr Cain’s departure and is an environmental campaigner, is influencing the agenda.
Mr Johnson had been due to face a showdown today with “red wall” Tory MPS who see the environment as a side issue and want him to focus on policies that “apply in Redcar as much as in Richmond upon Thames”.
MPS from the newly formed Northern Research Group were expected to tell Mr Johnson that jobs and the economy would win the next election, not the environment.
One “red wall” MP said: “There is a divide between Tory MPS in marginal seats in the North, where education, health and jobs are the priorities, and MPS in safe seats in the South who want to be able to impress dinner party guests by flashing their green credentials.”
Mr Johnson is due to establish a policy board to come up with ideas to appeal to northern working class voters, chaired by Neil O’brien, the Leicest ershire MP. His highest- profile communications adviser is now Allegra Stratton, who sided with Ms Symonds in the coup that ended with Mr Cummings and Mr Cain being ousted.
She wants to soften the Government’s image and believes pushing environmental policies is part of that process. But a former Cabinet minister said: “It doesn’t matter how touchyfeely we are, we are not going to win the next election unless we can sort out the economy, get Brexit done, level up and safeguard the Union.”
Responding to the PM’S isolation, Labour’s Chris Bryant said: “I don’t understand. I thought England was in lockdown. What was the PM doing not maintaining a social distance?”