,be chris mason, i'm sure we will be back with you later. thank you so much for the moment. we'll speak now to david goc. thoughts, are your thoughts at this time please? my thoughts at this time please? my thoughts are with borisjohnson, carrie and his family. it is obvious he very worrying news tonight. all oui’ he very worrying news tonight. all our thoughts and hopes are with the prime minister, and i hope that we will have better news in the near future. obviously i very much wish him well in the personal battle that he faces. you know him well? i know him reasonably well. we were collea g u es him reasonably well. we were colleagues in the cabinet, i suppose we've been colleagues and political opponents to some extent. but he's someone even when you opponents to some extent. but he's someone even when you disagree with him, he'sa

someone even when you disagree with him, he's a very charming, likeable figure, as the public well knows. we need him back as prime minister, so on of personal level and indeed for the good of the country, i think all our hopes should be that he will make a recovery from what is clearly a worrying situation. just to reiterate, the sentiments you just said there have been repeated by many people across the country — not just in government but in our position, as well, the archbishop of canterbury and so on. there is a national desire for the prime minister to get better. i wonder if we can switch to the government. we are ina we can switch to the government. we are in a national crisis, i think a lot of people watching this programme tuning in will want to know, is there a government which knows its chains of command? is there someone able to make decisions? from what i can see, it is clear that there is a situation in place. we've got cabinet

committees that are well—established, there are four cabinet committees working on this. the prime minister has given responsibility to dominic raab as first secretary of state, to act in his stead to fulfil his responsibilities. and there is a big responsibility with dominic but also the cabinet as a whole to work closely together to do what is necessary for the country. dominic will have the best civil servants and the very best advisers around him, and all the support that he needs. so clearly it is very far from ideal, but nonetheless the system should be strong enough to withstand the challenges that he faces. when we look at leadership illness and crisis around the world, whenever a deputy has to step in, it

isa whenever a deputy has to step in, it is a crisis by definition. we've seen is a crisis by definition. we've seen dominic raab give a statement. the country knows him reasonably well, they've seen him talk about brexit, it knows that he ran for leadership. what can you tell us about dominic raab that might help people to understand the might be —— that might be the person making decisions for a while? dominic raab is bright, incisive, he can be very decisive. i haven't always agreed with dominic over everything, but i think he's always impressed me as a colleague who knows what he wants to do and gets on and delivers. he'll be absolutely on top of the detail. and he's not alone. we have cabinet in government in this country, and he will be surrounded by senior figures, as well as ministers. michael gove coordinating the

coronavirus response, matt hancock i think has done very well as health secretary. rishi sunak, who is shown his worth as the chancellor. i speak not just as a his worth as the chancellor. i speak notjust as a member of the conservative party, but we have a cabinet that is doing absolutely everything it can to get through this crisis, and a real sense that there is a national mood. he talked earlier about the messages of support coming in for borisjohnson from a crop dashed across the political spectrum. i think the nation wants to rally around and work together to beat this virus. and dominic raab will have the support of the nation, i'm sure he will do absolutely everything he can. in any crisis, of course, there will be different points of view. and we've seen in recent days, quite understandable different points of

view between health and the economy. dominic raab might now suddenly have to step in and arbitrate those conflicting points of view himself. and he might have to do so very, very quickly. i've listened to the interviews that matt hancock made, for example, yesterday. in talking about he and rishi sunak working closely together, of course they're different focuses on different parts. but i think the government will do everything it can to address these issues, recognising both the health and economy matters that need to be addressed. and yes, there will be an important role for dominic raab in the days ahead. but we've got a cabinet that will need to work together, work effectively, and provide support for dominic raab as he steps in for what will be a relatively short period of time

whilst the prime minister makes what we hope will be a full and swift recovery. david, is there a role in all this for parliament perhaps to sit virtually or digitally? we know keir starmer and his election on saturday said he was whirling to work with the government to be constructive, given this is a national moment in a national crisis where the prime minister has been incapacitated, what role should parliament play? i think this is something that clearly everyone will have to look at. we would normally have to look at. we would normally have a parliamentary recess at the moment in any event, but clearly this is an event of some national significance. whether there is something that could be done to ensure the parliamentarians can still hold the government to account, or perhaps to assist the government in as constructive a way

possible — clearly that is something that will need to be looked at. but at the moment i think there are a number of significant challenges that the cabinet will have to face up that the cabinet will have to face up to and are already facing up to. and that is where the main efforts will lie. but yes, i think it will be important that parliament can play a role in the weeks ahead, and particularly i don't think we want to be seeing an extension of the recess. there ought to be a way parliament can be engaged. at the first task at the moment is at the cabinet level, and it is very important but i'm sure the whole cabinet will want to rally around and work constructively with dominic raab. and dominic will fulfil the role of the prime minister has asked him to. i'm sure he will do that to the best of his ability. think you so the best of his ability. think you so much forjoining us. think you. many of borisjohnson's political

cou nterpa rts many of borisjohnson's political counterparts in the uk have sent them well wishes in the uk. rishi sunak tweeted. .. nicola sturgeon tweeted to say... the leader of the opposition, who was only elected on saturday, keir starmer, said... andrew morrison, who is a doctor himself. boris has been working heroically over the last few days, despite his deteriorating condition. he's an extraordinary man and i'm sure he will pull through from this. it is devastating that over the course of the day to hear he's deteriorated to the point where he has to now go into intensive care.

but i don't think we should jump to any conclusions. i suspect the doctors will want to monitor him closely in a way that is only really possible in icu. and i know he's in the very best of hands at st thomas' hospital, and of course we all wish him well for a speedy recovery. he's a selfless individual with a very strong public service. it is not in his nature to step back. he has been running things, albeit from his sick bed. clearly that is no longer going to be possible in the immediate term, and there is a structure in place to deal with that contingency, there always is. and that will now ta ke there always is. and that will now take effect. leaders around the world have been wishing boris johnson a quick recovery and sending support his family. the french president emmanuel macron is sending his best wishes to the prime

minister, borisjohnson, and wishes him a speedy recovery. alsojustin trudeau says he hopes that boris johnson will have a speedy recovery, saying his thoughts are with him and his family. and we are going to carry on now with that tribute. that was from the president of the european commission, expressing her sympathy. we will now hear from someone who worked with borisjohnson we will now hear from someone who worked with boris johnson for a number of years as his media adviser. a little earlier...” number of years as his media adviser. a little earlier... i think there are two things he brings to there are two things he brings to the party that nobody else can easily replicate. letter a, the party that nobody else can easily replicate. lettera, he insists on making a big judgement calls, but two, it is that energy, determination, inpatients and unwillingness to accept that things

can't be done better or quicker than they are —— inpatients. he's been doing that even from his hospital bed. tragically there has been quite clearly a deterioration that is quite significant for him to now have to succumb to the intensive ca re have to succumb to the intensive care and hafted deputized to the foreign secretary. we know his huge work ethic, we know that he is somebody who has always been strong and in good health. of course we wish him a speedy recovery, but how frustrated do you feel that he must be feeling right now that he cannot lead from the front? you will be hugely frustrated, and in the four yea rs i hugely frustrated, and in the four years i worked closely with him, he gets up very early, goes to bed late if necessary, he never stops reading, so he doesn't stop thinking. i think what is clearly happened over the last few weeks, there have been enormous decisions about lives and livelihood, decisions that have enormous consequences on the one

hand, impacts on the lives and on well—being on the other. and he would've put himself lastly, he would've put himself lastly, he would've felt that the important thing was that he was out there, he was seen thing was that he was out there, he was seen to lead from the front, and he probably wouldn't have slept very well, he would've been working too hard. when he got the virus, he barely caught his breath. he seemed upbeat from his isolation but he didn't give his body a chance to fight this. we are hearing dominic raab say that he has — that they are getting on with all the plans that borisjohnson has instructed them to deliver to get them implemented as soon as deliver to get them implemented as soon as possible. so still very much leaving instructions and telling people what to do, how to get through this difficult time for the entire country. yes, and he would've made it very clear from handing entire country. yes, and he would've made it very clearfrom handing over that he would not tolerate when he is fully back in charge, any sense that there had a slowing down and a

lack of urgency in getting the testing sorted out and making sure about reparations being as good as they are, to ensure munication for they are, to ensure munication for the public. it is hard, we've gotten used to seeing scientists, certain members of the cabinet to have excelled themselves over the last few weeks. but in the end this is an extremely personal sort of leadership that we have at the helm of british government at the moment, with an enormous character that whether people like him or loathe him, they know him extremely well. if the man at the top is not in charge. i was told that his hand is firmly on the tiller, everyone knows to use that saying, which way the boat is set to go, but now everyone will be putting on their sheets and... should he have perhaps

stepped aside orjust released that tiller a little bit earlier in that case? because he has been unwell, showing symptoms for over a week. perhaps he should have allowed his recovery to fighting for it, rather than continue to keep our spirits up, even though arguably the nation needed it? is a tough one, imagine if he hadn't been on the steps of number ten thursday clapping for the nhs. it maybe would have been a wise thing to do, he didn't look very well, but in this climate, there are people who would've said that was a smirk and he didn't care for the workers. it is a brutal political environment these days, and even without the negativity, i think he feels it is very important that he does lead from the front...

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. britain's prime minister has moved to intensive care ten days after testing positive for coronavirus. he's been receiving excellent care at st thomas' hospital and we'd like to take this opportunity as a government to thank nhs staff up and down the country for all of their dedication and hard work and commitment in treating everyone that's been affected by this awful virus. the coronavirus has killed more than 10,000 people in america as officials warned this could be ha rd est officials warned this could be hardest week yet. but there is hope the outbreak in