Michael Gove has gone into self-isolation after a family member showed symptoms of coronavirus, it was revealed today.
Aides to the Cabinet Office minister said he was following the official guidance by going into quarantine for 14 days, but was not himself feeling ill.
It is understood he plans to keep working as normal, but the news will heighten concerns about paralysis at the heart of government.
Boris Johnson was dramatically moved into intensive care last night, with concerns he faces at least weeks out of action amid the country’s biggest crisis for a generation.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has been ‘deputised’ to fill in for the premier, but there are questions about whether he will have the full powers of a PM over national security. In a sign of the febrile atmosphere, alarm was raised at images of Mr Raab coughing as he left the Foreign Office this morning.
In a round of broadcast interviews from home earlier, Mr Gove played down concerns that the government will be paralysed with the leader out of action, insisting that Mr Johnson had already been on a ‘stripped back diary’ for days and ‘Cabinet is the supreme decision making body’,
However, he dodged questions about whether Mr Raab has been given crucial national security responsibilities such as control of the nuclear deterrent and military.
Mr Gove revealed today that he has gone into self-isolation after a family member started showing coronavirus symptoms
In a round of broadcast interviews from home earlier, Michael Gove said Mr Johnson was getting the ‘best care’
Images show the Prime Minister’s changing appearance as his battle with coronavirus continued from (top row left to right) March 27 and 28 and (bottom row left to right) April 1 and 2
New Prime Ministers usually write ‘letters of last resort’ to nuclear submarine captains, setting out instructions if government is wiped out by an enemy strike. However, it is not clear whether Mr Johnson’s letters will still apply, or Mr Raab will pen new versions.
MPs have raised alarm that hostile states such as Russia – which has already been accused of spreading disinformation about Mr Johnson’s condition – could try to exploit Britain’s ‘weakness’.
General Sir Nick Carter, chief of the defence staff, said the armed forces ‘work straight through to the Prime Minister’, although he suggested the National Security Council (NSC) will now fill the gap.
The Queen is being kept informed about Mr Johnson’s condition. The monarch appoints the PM, choosing the individual who is best placed to carry a majority in the Commons.
Asked about Mr Raab’s authority and whether he would have the same power as the PM to hire and fire people in Cabinet, Mr Gove replied: ‘The Prime Minister always remains the Prime Minister but I don’t think there’s any suggestion of anything other than a great team spirit in government as we all work together at this time.’
Mr Gove said he could not comment about national security matters when asked if responsibilities connected to nuclear attack had been passed on to Foreign Secretary Mr Raab.
‘Dominic is in charge. I won’t go into the details of the different national security decisions and protocols that there are but there are appropriate ways in which decisions can be taken in order to keep this country safe,’ he said,
‘The ultimate decisions are always taken by politicians and in this case the PM has asked Dominic to deputise for him, so it’s Dominic as Foreign Secretary who’s in charge.’
He also said any decisions about the lockdown would be ‘taken collectively following appropriate advice’, dismissing the idea there would be a delay.
Mr Raab raised concerns as he was seen coughing leaving the Foreign Office to go to Downing Street this morning
He told Good Morning Britain: ‘No it won’t be delayed. It will be the case that we will take that decision collectively as a Cabinet.
‘The person who will chair that Cabinet, the person who will make the final decision of course is, as I mentioned earlier, the Foreign Secretary.’
On the issue of a national government he added: ‘I don’t think anyone is talking in those terms, no.’
Conservative MP and defence committee chairman Tobias Ellwood underlined the concerns about the nuclear deterrent.
‘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,’ he tweeted.
Mr Gove said Mr Johnson was getting the ‘best care’.
‘As we speak the PM is in intensive care being looked after by his medical team receiving the very, very best care from the team in St Thomas’ and our hopes and prayers are with him and with his family,’ he told BBC Breakfast.
He said Mr Johnson’s plight should demonstrate the need to follow social distancing rules, as the virus ‘has a malevolence that is truly frightening’.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump revealed he has offered to send Mr Johnson experimental drugs to treat his coronavirus.
It is not immediately clear what would happen if Mr Raab also became incapacitated, with the UK not having a formal system of succession like other countries, for example the US.
Mr Raab’s status as the person waiting in the wings reportedly sparked furious rows within the government a fortnight ago, with other ministers adamant Mr Gove, the Minister for the Cabinet Office, should be the one to take over.
But Number 10 is likely to face intense pressure in the coming days to set out exactly what would happen if Mr Johnson and other senior ministers can no longer work.
If Mr Johnson is forced to resign, the Cabinet would in the first instance choose a successor.
They would need to carry the support of the Conservative MPs and potentially the party members – although it is unlikely anyone would force a full leadership contest at a time of massive crisis.