Boris Johnson Taken To Hospital For ‘Routine Operation’

Boris Johnson is recovering after having a 'routine operation' today (20 June).

Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab is now serving as acting Prime Minister as Johnson recovers.

A spokesman for the Prime Minister said: "The Prime Minister this morning had a very minor routine operation related to his sinuses.

"He went to hospital around 6am and the operation was carried out first thing this morning. He was back in Downing Street shortly after 10am this morning."

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Raab will be acting PM for at least the next day after Johnson's operation.

The PM is scheduled to chair a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday (21 June) and is set to travel to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Rwanda this week. However it is currently unclear whether Johnson will be well enough to return to work on Tuesday.

The spokesperson added: “I think it will depend on how he feels.”

They were also was asked who would be in charge of nuclear accounts while Johnson recuperates, they said Raab and Cabinet Secretary Simon Case said they had both been made aware of Johnson’s operation. 

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"Operationally, my understanding is there's a 24-hour period from when the operation takes place [...] under which sort of significant decisions would be deferred to probably in the first instance the Deputy Prime Minister,” they added.

"Now we're not anticipating any of that being required currently, but we do have that capability."

Johnson won a vote of confidence from Tory MPs earlier this month, with 211 votes in favour and 148 votes against.

He would have been forced to stand down if he had lost, but the result in his favour means he is safe from facing a similar result for a year. 

Johnson said he was ‘grateful’ to his colleagues who had supported him when he spoke about the outcome of the vote.

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He told the BBC: "What it means is as a government we can move on and focus on the stuff that I think really matters to people.

"I'm grateful to colleagues and the support they've given me.

"What we need to do now is come together as a government and a party."

He went on to say that this vote was an opportunity for his party to ‘put behind us’ arguments from within. 

He added: "What we have now is an opportunity to put behind us all the stuff people in the media like going on about.

"What we're going to do now is take the opportunity to unite and deliver."

The confidence vote was called following the publication of the Sue Gray report looking into a series of parties at No. 10 during lockdown.