Boris Johnson declared that he was as “fit as a butcher’s dog” and “bursting with antibodies” as he insisted that his spell of self-isolation would not deter him from leading from the front during a period of intensive activity for his Government.
His plans to relaunch his administration following a bitter spell of in-fighting in Downing Street were plunged into disarray by the instruction to quarantine for 14 days because he had spent time with an MP with coronavirus.
The Prime Minister had planned to roll out a series of policy plans to demonstrate that the pandemic and the clashes within his top team had not thrown him off course, and to mount a “charm offensive” to restore relations with his mutinous MPs.
Instead he will have to resort to video conferencing to oversee the launch of his plans for “green jobs” and to work with Chancellor Rishi Sunak on the Government’s spending plans for 2021-22.
Pivotal weeks
He will also have to decide what restrictions will replace the English lockdown from 2 December and whether to sign up to a post-Brexit trade deal with the European Union.
Mr Johnson will be forced to hold meetings by Zoom with Tory MPs, including backbenchers from recently captured “red wall seats” to reassure them he has not abandoned his promise to “level up” less prosperous parts of the country.
Confirming that he was entering quarantine, he tweeted: “It doesn’t matter that we were all doing social distancing, it doesn’t matter that I’m fit as a butcher’s dog, feel great – so many people do in my circumstances.
“And actually it doesn’t matter that I’ve had the disease and I’m bursting with antibodies. We’ve got to interrupt the spread of the disease and one of the ways we can do that now is by self-isolating for 14 days when contacted by Test and Trace.”
Mr Johnson is expected to set out a 10-point plan to meet the UK’s legally-binding target to build a carbon neutral economy by 2050, including moves to bring forward a ban on the sale of new diesel and petrol cars from 2035 to 2030.
He will make a commitment to build a new nuclear plant in Sizewell, Suffolk, as part of the Government’s commitment to new nuclear as a means to reduce carbon emissions.
A task force is also expected to be created to help businesses and Government meet the target, as well as proposals announced to invest in hydrogen technology and greater commitments to wind energy and carbon capture and storage research.
The Prime Minister and Mr Sunak are also working on a spending review to cover 2021-22 to be detailed next week.
‘Build back better’
Mr Johnson has said the plans are designed to “ensure that we can build back better from the pandemic”. They are set to include moves to create jobs, boost apprenticeships and invest in infrastructure schemes.
The Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said Mr Johnson was right to self-isolate. “This is frustrating for the Prime Minister, I understand that,” he said. “It is important for all of us to say that we have got to comply with the advice and guidance.”
Why the Prime Minister is self-isolating
The Prime Minister must remain in self-isolation until 26 November after coming into close contact with a Tory MP who tested positive, writes Jane Merrick.
Boris Johnson has already suffered from coronavirus earlier this year, meaning it is unlikely – but not impossible – he will catch it again. Yet he was instructed by an email from NHS Test and Trace that because he was a contact of Lee Anderson, Conservative MP for Ashfield, he must go into self-isolation for 14 days from the event.
Mr Johnson said that “it doesn’t matter that I’m fit as a butcher’s dog and feel great”, because he wanted to follow the rules to minimise transmission.
Scientists do not know whether people who have had Covid-19 can still transmit the virus to other people if they later come into contact with an infected person.
It is also essential for the Prime Minister to show he is following the rules to ensure other people do so.
