Boris Johnson ‘stable’ and not on a ventilator, No. 10 says

Boris Johnson has been stable overnight and is breathing without mechanical assistance, his official spokesman said this afternoon. He has received standard oxygen treatment and ‘remains in good spirits’. He does not have pneumonia.

There have been questions over whether Downing Street had been overly reticent about quite how unwell the Prime Minister has been, and whether it was right that the full picture wasn’t on offer. The spokesman insisted that No. 10 has been ‘fully frank’ about the Prime Minister’s condition throughout and that the change yesterday from ‘in hospital as a precaution’ to Johnson being moved to intensive care was because his symptoms worsened yesterday afternoon.

Raab will not be attending weekly audiences with the Queen while the Prime Minister is absent

Why is it important that we know the details of the Prime Minister’s condition? Some might argue that questions about what he’s capable of are irrelevant, but given he was said to be working on his red box yesterday afternoon, and given the line is that Dominic Raab has assumed the Prime Minister’s responsibilities ‘where appropriate’, it is important to understand where the division lies: will Raab be deputising on issues beyond the coronavirus pandemic, for instance? Is Johnson communicating with Raab and officials at all while in ICU? The spokesman suggested not, saying repeatedly in response to questions about whether he was using a phone or speaking to others that ‘he’s in intensive care’.