Prime Minister Boris Johnson is planning to return to No 10 as early as Monday to take back control of the coronavirus pandemic amid Cabinet concerns the lockdown has gone too far.
Senior Cabinet ministers are concerned that a prolonged shutdown will lead to tens of thousands of companies collapsing and inflict irreparable damage to the economy, there are clear signs that businesses and the public are growing tired of the lockdown with increasing numbers of firms reopening and car use on the rise.
Mr Johnson has told his aides to schedule catch-up meetings with individual Cabinet ministers next week to get fully up to speed.
Brandon Lewis, the Northern Ireland Secretary, said Mr Johnson was “fully recovering” from the effects of coronavirus, he told Sky News: “I’m looking forward to seeing him back in full swing and in full grip of the reins as Prime Minister of the country; I’m sure he will be very soon. I am sure he will be very keen to get back but he is also doing the right thing.”
The PM is now receiving daily updates from No 10 on the coronavirus outbreak and is taking calls. Last week, he held a two-hour meeting at Chequers with Dominic Raab, who is standing in for him, and spoke to the Foreign Secretary “on a couple of occasions this week,” including yesterday.
When asked how close the public was to see him back at No 10, his spokesman said: “He is speaking with No 10 staff, with the First Secretary of State, he had a call with the US President and Her Majesty the Queen. He has been sent regular updates on Government business but it is still the case he is not doing Government work.
“The First Secretary of State has said the PM is recovering well but I’m still not in a position to give you a timetable when he will be fully back at work. He will take the advice of his medical team as he has throughout.”
Mr Johnson has not addressed the nation since Easter Sunday when he delivered a Twitter message after spending a week at St Thomas’s Hospital, including three days in the intensive care unit.
Allies of Mr Johnson said he was “determined” to return to Downing Street next week from Chequers, where he has been recuperating since being released from hospital on April 12.
One source said: “He’s not the sort of person who is very good at doing nothing. In truth, he has been working pretty much full time for the past week.
“The fact that he had a telephone audience with the Queen on Wednesday night shows you that he considers himself to be fit for duty.”
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Editor-in-Chief | Carl D. Pearson has been involved in British politics and media from an early age, with the key knowledge of what it takes to run a news organisation for the 21st century. Mr Pearson, as Editor-in-chief, is responsible for supervising the daily tasks of publishing media and content to UNN’s website and various platforms.
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