The sharp decline in Boris Johnson’s health makes for a series of grave front pages on Tuesday. The Times’ headline reads “PM in intensive care” and reports on sources saying that Johnson needed four litres of oxygen. The papers says this is well below the normal threshold of 15 litres and suggests the prime minister’s case is not as serious as some admitted to ICU.
The Guardian’s splash headline is “Johnson taken to intensive care after virus symptoms worsen”. Simon Jenkins, one of the paper’s columnists, wishes Johnson a speedy recovery but says that we must recognise that “the machinery of government is malfunctioning” in his absence.
The Mirror says “Sick Boris faces fight for life” across a picture of a pallid-looking Johnson taken from a government video last week. It agrees that the PM’s illness “raises some awkward questions” for the way the country is being run and says cabinet ministers will never be forgiven if they are seen to be scoring points off each other in a fight for a potential succession.
The Mail also chooses the same image as the Mirror alongside a headline reading “Now stricken Boris taken to intensive care”. It also notes that his pregnant girlfriend, Carrie Symonds, is self-isolating in London and has been unable to see him.
The Mail reports inside on how “the crisis over Boris Johnson’s health turned into a full-scale emergency”, with his doctor immediately telling him he had to go to hospital after seeing him struggling for breath on a conference call on Sunday.
The Sun headline says “Boris in intensive care” while the Metro says “PM put in intensive care unit” and the i opts for “Prime minister in intensive care with coronavirus”.
The Telegraph headline is “Johnson in intensive care” and on the inside pages the paper’s former editor, Charles Moore, is sharply critical of comments by the one-time Whitehall mandarin Lord Kerslake, who told the BBC that Johnson would have to “reflect on his position” if his illness continued. Citing the example of Winston Churchill, who suffered two bouts of serious illness during the second world war, Moore looks forward to Johnson recovering and says: “I think both Britain and Boris have a stronger constitution than Lord Kerslake allows.”
The Express, whose headline is “Boris moved to intensive care as health worsens”, highlights in one of its stories a comment by BBC journalist Andrew Neil who posted on Twitter a statistic about the dangers of the virus if you have not recovered after 10 days. The BBC host wrote: “This virus either gives up and you recover with no damage done or it really decides to go for you and you have a 50:50 chance. The PM’s decision to work through his isolation will not have helped. Nor loneliness in Downing St.” Finally, the Financial Times says “Johnson moved to intensive care as persistent symptoms worsen”.