UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson receives oxygen treatment in ICU amid questions about who's running the UK
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson
is receiving "standard oxygen treatment" and is breathing without
assistance, his spokesperson said Tuesday, a day after he was
transferred to intensive care with coronavirus.
Johnson's
condition is stable and he "remains in good spirits," his spokesperson
said. He has not required invasive or non-invasive ventilation and does
not have pneumonia.
But
the seriousness of the Prime Minister's condition at a time of national
emergency, combined with the lack of a formal succession procedure for
heads of government in the UK, has raised questions about who is leading
the country.
Johnson
has nominated his Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, to deputize for him
"as necessary" but there is no recent precedent for a sitting UK prime
minister becoming incapacitated for a lengthy period.
In
its daily update to reporters, Downing Street moved to head off
concerns, stressing that Raab was running the country from the Foreign
and Commonwealth Office with the support of government officials.
Raab
would chair meetings of the National Security Council if any were
needed while he was deputizing for the Prime Minister, a spokesperson
said. Raab, 46, and the UK's Cabinet have the authority and ability to
respond in the PM's absence on military action, the spokesperson added.
Decisions
relating to Covid-19 would be taken in the usual way through the daily
morning meeting, chaired by Raab, and other ministerial groupings. But
Raab would not have the power to hire and fire ministers or officials,
the spokesperson said.
The UK
lockdown will remain in place with the government "focused on stopping
the spread of the infection." The spokesperson said that if there were
evidence that more needed to be done to slow the rate of transmission,
"we would be prepared to do that."
Who is running the UK?
Few
formal powers are invested specifically in the UK prime minister and
key decisions are taken collectively by the Cabinet or its
sub-committees. Many statutory powers are held by individual secretaries
of state. But in recent decades, holders of the UK's top political
office have adopted a more presidential style, and the sweeping nature
of the ruling Conservative Party's most recent election victory was
attributed to Johnson's personal appeal with voters.
"The
Prime Minister has a team around him who ensure the work of government
goes on," a senior Cabinet minister, Michael Gove, told the BBC earlier.
He sidestepped a question about who would take decisions in the event
of a nuclear attack, saying he would not discuss national security
issues.
Conservative MP Tobias
Ellwood, who chairs the House of Commons defense select committee,
tweeted good wishes to Johnson but added: "It is important to have 100%
clarity as to where responsibility for UK national security decisions
now lies. We must anticipate adversaries attempting to exploit any
perceived weakness."
Buckingham
Palace and the Queen have been regularly updated on Johnson's condition,
Downing Street said. The Prime Minister's two most senior officials,
the cabinet secretary and his principal private secretary, will maintain
contact with the palace on the Prime Minister's behalf, but the weekly
audiences with the Queen will not continue for the time being.
The
Queen has sent a message to Johnson's pregnant fiancée Carrie Symonds
and the Johnson family. "Her Majesty said they were in her thoughts and
that she wished the Prime Minister a full and speedy recovery,"
Buckingham Palace said.
The Duke of
Cambridge also sent his best wishes. "Our thoughts are with the Prime
Minister and his family, who like so many in the UK and around the world
are affected by coronavirus," said Prince William.
Johnson's
spokesperson said that despite the lack of a formal succession
procedure in the UK, there was an established order of ministerial
precedence, with the top finance minister, Rishi Sunak following Raab.
The "letters of last resort," sealed documents written by the Prime
Minister to ballistic missile submarine commanders in case of a nuclear
attack, still stand. "The Prime Minister remains the Prime Minister,"
the spokesperson said.
US
President Donald Trump said at a Monday news conference that his
administration had been in contact with Johnson's doctors. The Prime
Minister's spokesperson said the government was "grateful for all of the
warm wishes the PM has received overnight" and "confident he is
receiving the best care from the NHS. Any treatment he receives is a
matter for his doctors."
Related stories
Gove
told BBC Radio 4's Today program earlier that Johnson was "receiving
the very best care" at St. Thomas' Hospital in London, after being taken
into intensive care at 7 p.m. local time (2 p.m. ET) on Monday. Gove
later said that he was self-isolating at home because a member of his
family was displaying coronavirus symptoms. Gove said on Twitter that he did not have any symptoms and was continuing to work.
The
coronavirus has hit the top of the British government hard. The Health
Secretary, Matt Hancock, said on March 27 that he had the virus, on the
same day that the chief medical officer, Chris Whitty, announced that he
would begin self-isolation after displaying Covid-19 symptoms. Neil
Ferguson, a top UK government adviser on the virus, said on March 18 he believed he had been infected.
Various
other senior government ministers and advisers have been forced to
self-isolate. Dominic Cummings, the Prime Minister's senior adviser, who
self-isolated soon after Johnson's diagnosis, has not yet returned to
work, Downing Street said.
Johnson was taken to hospital on Sunday evening. At the time, Downing Street said the decision was a precaution because he continued to suffer from a cough and a fever ten days after testing positive
for the coronavirus. But his condition deteriorated on Monday, Downing
Street said, and he was moved to the intensive care unit at St. Thomas'
Hospital.
Gove told Sky News on
Tuesday morning that Cabinet ministers were not told about the Prime
Minister's deteriorating condition until nearly an hour after Johnson
was taken into intensive care.
Asked
whether the government had been up front with the public about
Johnson's condition, and whether the Cabinet had been taken by surprise,
he replied: "Yes we were. The [daily coronavirus] briefing that was
given at 5 o'clock was given at a time when we didn't know about the
deterioration in the Prime Minister's condition."
"We
were informed subsequently. The Prime Minister was admitted to
intensive care at 7 o'clock, and that information wasn't given to us in
government -- to those in the cabinet -- until just before 8 o'clock."
Words of support
Politicians around the world sent best wishes for the Prime Minister's recovery.
Finance
minister Sunak said on Twitter that his thoughts were with Johnson and
his fiancée, Symonds. "I know he'll be getting the best care possible
and will come out of this even stronger," he said.
Symonds has also experienced Covid-19 symptoms but said over the weekend she was "on the mend."
The
leader of the UK's House of Commons, Lindsay Hoyle, said: "I know the
thoughts and prayers of everyone across the House are with the Prime
Minister and his family right now. We all wish him a speedy recovery."
Keir
Starmer, the newly elected leader of the UK's main opposition Labour
Party leader, tweeted: "Terribly sad news. All the country's thoughts
are with the Prime Minister and his family during this incredibly
difficult time."
Former Prime
Minister Theresa May, who was replaced by Johnson in the country's
Brexit crisis, wrote on Twitter said her "thoughts and prayers" were
with Johnson and his family. "This horrific virus does not
discriminate," she added.
French
President Emmanuel Macron sent his "support to Boris Johnson, to his
family and to the British people at this difficult moment," wishing him a
"speedy recovery at this testing time."
Irish
leader Leo Varadkar, who has returned to work as a doctor during the
outbreak, tweeted that Johnson was "in our thoughts" on Monday night and
wished him "a rapid return to health."
President
Trump said on Monday: "We're very saddened to hear that he was taken
into intensive care this a little while ago. He's been a really good
friend. He's been really something very special. Strong. Resolute."
Source: CNN
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