take a listen to the message from the
Prime Minister which he posted on his
Twitter account in the last few minutes
hi folks I want to bring you up to speed
with something that's happening today
which is it I've developed mild symptoms
of the corona virus that's to say a
temperature and a persistent cough and
on the advice of the chief medical
officer I've taken a test that has come
out positive so I am working from the
home I'm self isolating and that's
entirely the right thing to do but being
no diet that I can continue a thanks to
the wizardry of modern technology to
communicate with all my top team to lead
the national fight back against corona
virus and I want to thank everybody
who's involved I want to thank that of
course above all our amazing NHS staff
it was very moving last night to join in
that national clap for the NHS but it's
not just the NHS it's our police social
care workers teachers everybody who
works in schools of DWP staff an amazing
national effort by the public services
but also by every member of the British
public who's volunteering incredible
response 600,000 people have volunteered
to take part in a great national effort
to protect people from the consequences
of coronavirus I want to thank you I
will thank everybody who's working to
keep our country going through this
epidemic and we will get through it and
the way we're going to get through it is
of course by applying the measures that
you'll have heard so much about and the
more effectively we all comply with
those measures the faster our country
will come through this epidemic and the
faster will will bounce back so thank
you to everybody who's doing what I'm
doing working from home to stop the
spread of the virus from household to
household that's the way we're going to
win we're going to beat it and we're
going to beat it
together stay at home protect the NHS
and save lives so the Prime Minister
giving the news there of his own
positive test for coronavirus saying
that he developed a temperature and a
cough mild symptoms and on the advice of
the chief medical officer he took a test
and it has come back positive but
typically confident and positive
expressing his thanks to NHS staff
expressing his thanks and to the country
and his confidence that the country
would overcome the virus let's talk now
to James Forsythe who is a spectator
columnist James Forsythe thanks so much
for joining us you will have seen and
heard that video of the Prime Minister
your immediate reaction I think it every
good you said it's gonna classically
Boris Johnson very positive but
obviously yeah he is still gonna need
the government's response but I think
there'll be a lot of concern in
Whitehall because obviously he has been
in contact with many of the key figures
for dealing with this crisis in the past
few days and so if he does things on a
governmental level and he obviously you
said he was positive there I mean he
said his symptoms were mild and coming
just just talking for a moment longer
about the prime minister himself and his
health he does look in that video well
and he does sound well so I suppose
while the concerns that you express
about the the wider infections that
might be going on in terms of his own
personal health he looks in good shape
yeah I think if the public health advice
is that anyone with the temperature and
a cop must start by slatebook
for 14 days but in the planets
themselves has obviously got to follow
that you can't carry on going to work
when he's telling everybody else not to
but you know I think a lot of stuff in
Whitehall is already happening remotely
you don't go having cabinet meetings
happening on do something any other
sport would have happen before this
crisis
No so I think those up there there are
there are ways to deal with that if the
concern will be and this has been the
concern of them for quite some time now
is what happened if this infection
spreads throughout Whitehall how much
more difficult that made the
government's job well let's talk then
about that in more detail because until
very recently the Prime Minister has
been conducting those news conferences
with a large number of journalists in
the room of course Pete some of our
audience may not feel that journalists
are critical workers but then obviously
his aides inside Downing Street the
chief medical officer the chief
scientific adviser there are a lot of
key people in the battle who he has been
working with in very close proximity to
as we've all seen over recent days I've
tried to follow the same guidelines if
you look again that's that cabinet
meeting on Tuesday yes the house X
Hancock was physically present in the
room but I think you know he's a good
six feet away from the prime minister
you yes the balancer in the Chancellor's
very standing outside number 10 last
night clapping NHS staff but again I
think they were yeah the appropriate six
feet away from each other so I think
they're gonna billeting the question
becomes how widespread is this infection
in Whitehall I mean there already have
been some number 10 star self isolating
because they had symptoms and I mean
there will be the worries about whether
this is whether this could just make
things even more difficult as the
government tries to handle what is
undoubtedly one of the biggest peacetime
challenges this country has faced and if
the Prime Minister becomes unable to
lead the effort due to any worsening of
symptoms then the roles if the duties
fall upon Dominic Robb the Foreign
Secretary it is as we understand from
earlier this week his role to step up
should he be needed yeah he is the first
secretary of state as has been points
actually and that means based upon
ministers in capacity if anytime he were
here essentially acts as the acting
Prime Minister and Dominic Raab himself
you know and this would be a huge
accretion of duties to him yeah
obviously it would be any now Rana CLE
he and Eleanor what he be arrested for
going to virus and tested negative
I think it would obviously be especially
because boson has very much been the
faces of the government's response to
growing about you know he'd been held in
regular press conferences it's been his
tone his addresses to a nation but have
that have been in the house with an
effort to communicate with the public so
that was that and Dominic Raman you know
when he was well-known a figure as Boris
once