British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is “feeling well” and making a good recovery after undergoing a “very minor routine operation related to his sinuses” under general anaesthetic at a London hospital on Monday morning, a Downing Street spokesperson has said.
Johnson went to hospital at around 6 a.m. and the operation was “carried out first thing this morning,” said his official spokesperson, adding that he was back in Downing Street shortly after 10 a.m.
The operation was carried out by the National Health Service (NHS) and the prime minister was under general anaesthetic, the spokesperson revealed.
Downing Street said the operation “went well” and the prime minister is “pleased to be back in Number 10.”
The spokesperson said Johnson was due to take meetings on Monday afternoon and will chair a meeting of his Cabinet on Tuesday morning.
Asked earlier who was in charge of the UK nuclear accounts during the procedure, the spokesperson said Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab and Cabinet Secretary Simon Case were aware in advance.
Procedures were in place so that any significant decisions could be deferred to Raab before the prime minister resumed duties, the spokesperson said.
He added: “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.
“Now we are not anticipating any of that being required currently, but we do have that capability.”
Johnson tested positive for COVID-19 on March 27, 2020. He self-isolated but continued to run the government until he was admitted to hospital after his condition deteriorated.
He was taken to an intensive care unit (ICU) on April 6, where he remained until April 9 before being discharged from hospital three days later. During his hospital stay, he had to ask Raab, then foreign secretary and first secretary of state, to deputise for him where necessary.
