SEE HIM..........The PM has asked Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, who is the First Secretary of State, to deputise for him where necessary'

 

After Boris Johnson was taken to hospital with persistent coronavirus symptoms, thoughts in Westminster inevitably turned to the chain of command.

Whilst Downing Street had insisted that the Prime Minister's mild symptoms meant he was able to carry on with his duties, he has now has to step back due to his health worsening. He remains conscious despite being transferred to intensive care, Downing Street confirmed.
After Mr Johnson's condition deteriorated, the task of steering the country's response to the pandemic has fallen firstly to Dominic Raab, the Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State.
A statement from Number 10 said: "The PM has asked Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, who is the First Secretary of State, to deputise for him where necessary."
But should Mr Raab also fall ill – having tested negative twice in recent weeks – Number 10 has so far refused to disclose the line of succession contained in the so-called "designated survivor" plan.
The confusion has already given rise to jostling among cabinet ministers, with reports over the weekend suggesting that Michael Gove, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, had been locked in a "turf war" with Mr Hancock.
While the Health Secretary is now back at work after being housebound, Mr Gove may have been expecting an automatic elevation to third in the pecking order.
But a senior Government insider told The Telegraph that Mr Gove is in fact outranked by the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, and the Home Secretary, Priti Patel, who hold the two other Great Offices of State.
Should Mr Johnson be forced to pass his authority down the chain of command, the source added that he would be likely to stick to tradition and select according to a minister's position around the Cabinet table, which in turn signifies their prominence.

Under this scenario, Mr Gove would sit fifth in the chain, followed by Robert Buckland, the Lord Chancellor, and Ben Wallace, the Defence Secretary.
However, a former Cabinet minister played down the significance of Mr Gove's lower status, adding that they expected him to be inserted "in the middle" of Mr Raab and Mr Sunak.
They also indicated that Mr Johnson's loyalties to his Chancellor and Home Secretary could be tested, pointing out that he was able to hand any Cabinet minister the authority to direct other Government ministries in his absence.
"There isn’t a fixed chain. It depends really on where Boris wants to go," they added.
Should Mr Johnson stick to tradition, the next in line would be Mr Hancock, followed by Alok Sharma, the Business Secretary; Liz Truss, the International Trade Secretary; and Therese Coffey, the Secretary for Work and Pensions.
Although Baroness Evans, the Leader of the House of Lords, sits 19th in order of prominence, the Government is likely to relegate her to the bottom of the pile due to her being a member of "the other place".
The succession would continue down to Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the International Development Secretary.

Whilst Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg attends Cabinet, he is unlikely to be called upon because his role does not come with the same level of responsibility.
Mr Johnson has reassured the public that he will continue to lead the Government whilst self-isolating at home.
In a video message published on Twitter shortly after he was diagnosed, he said: "Be in no doubt that I can continue, thanks to the wizardry of modern technology, to communicate with all my top team to lead the national fightback against coronavirus."