BORIS Johnson has rubbished “nonsense” claims he will quit in 6 months because of his ill-health from his battle with coronavirus.
The PM said he was feeling “far better” than ever after losing 1.5 stone after a report claimed chief adviser Dominic Cummings’ father-in-law had told a journalist he would resign.
During a visit to Appledore Shipyard in North Devon the PM addressed the rumours, telling Devon Live: “It’s absolute nonsense! I am feeling, if anything, far better as I’ve lost some weight. Not enough, but I have lost at least a stone and a half.
“I feel much much better for having lost, by my standards, quite a lot of weight.”
The report by The Times diary column claimed chief adviser Dominic Cummings‘ father-in-law suggested that the PM was ready to step down because of the toll coronavirus has taken on him.
The rumours cited journalist Anna Silverman, who had visited Chillingham Castle in Northumberland, which is home to Sir Humphry Wakefield, the father of Mr Cummings’ wife Mary.
Sir Humphry apparently “merrily” told Ms Silverman that Mr Johnson is “still struggling badly with having had Covid-19” and “will stand down in six months”.
“If you put a horse back to work when it’s injured it will never recover,” it reported him as saying.
But the extraordinary claims have been laughed off by Downing Street.
A No10 spokesperson told HOAR: “This is nonsense”.
The PM was admitted to the intensive care unit at St Thomas’ Hospital in London in April after he became sick with the virus.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock and Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty were also infected but neither needed hospitalisation.
Mr Johnson was given “oxygen treatment” and spent three days in intensive care with the nation on tenterhooks as to whether he would make it.
He was the first major world leader to come down with the virus, and appeared to suffer with it badly.
He later blamed his weight as being a factor in why he was sick – and urged the nation to follow him on a health kick.
Obesity has been flagged as a major risk factor for the virus.
In a video following his discharge from hospital, Mr Johnson thanked health service staff for saving his life.
He said the NHS had “saved his life”.
He’s just returned from a week’s holiday in Scotland with partner Carrie and their newborn son, Wilfred.
Boris is back at his desk this week getting Britain’s schools ready to reopen on Monday.
Today he was snapped on a business visit in Devon.
But it was reported Mr Cummings has been off work to have an operation he delayed when he agreed to become the PM’s advisor last year.
He is expected to return to work next Monday.
He applauded the work of two nurses Mr Johnson said stayed at his side for 48 hours “when things could have gone either way.”
The PM spent some time at Chequers with fiancé Carrie after his stint in hospital.
Mr Cummings’, the PM’s chief adviser, was the centre of an uproar when he was accused of breaking lockdown rules when he and his wife drove from London to Durham.
Mr Cummings has been ridiculed after claiming he took at trip to tourist destination Barnard Castle to “test his eyes”.
Did you miss our previous article…
https://www.hellofaread.com/politics/exams-regulator-boss-sally-collier-quits-after-gcse-and-a-level-chaos/
