Who is Boris Johnsons deputy with the Prime Minister in intensive care? – Telegraph.co.uk

Dominic Raab has beencharged with leading the UKs 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 Johnsons absence.

Speaking after the announcement on Monday, Mr Raab reassured the public that ministers and officials were continuing to carry out instructions issued by the Prime Minister.

The Government's business will continue andthe Prime Minister is in safe hands with that brilliant team at St Thomass 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," he said.

There's an incredibly strong team spirit behind the Prime Minister, and we are making sure that we get all of the plans the Prime Ministers 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 with coordinating the UKs response to the pandemic.

In a statement released on Monday, 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, havebeen transferred to Mr Raab.

Leading the daily Downing Street press conference on Mondayafternoon, 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 Thomass, central London.

But when asked whether he had taken over Mr Johnsons 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, headded.

The UKs 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 also 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 Ministers 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 on Monday 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 TheTelegraph.

These could include authority over the UKs national security apparatus, such as control over the UK's nuclear deterrent.

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," Dr Haddon added.

Its not so much like America where they have to carry the nuclear codes around, its 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 Britains 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 doesnt mean hes the only one whoengages with them.

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Who is Boris Johnsons deputy with the Prime Minister in intensive care? - Telegraph.co.uk