Laura, What have you got to tell us?

Good morning, Carrie.

Well, I just discovered that the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has tested positive for Corona virus is understood to have mild symptoms.

He will self isolate in number 10 and will still be in charge of the government's approach to how they're handling the crisis.

But obviously, this is a significant moment.

Boris Johnson, of course, has been in close contact with government chief scientists and all the people who are in heart charge of trying to handle how the government's various responses are going.

But he is now himself, having displayed mild symptoms understood to have tested positive for the infection.

Lord, do you have more details off?

When that test was conducted, the nature of his symptoms on the date on which the test was conducted that's not yet clear carry.

We don't know that very much.

I know that.

Last week we reported that various members of staff in number 10 had already gone off with the virus, including David Swirls to the government.

Lied negotiator and various other people would be working in close contact with him.

We asked the question at that point is whether or not the prime minister himself had been tested, whether there were concerns about his health.

I can tell you at this point at what at what time he started to have the kind of symptoms where they believe the right thing to do was to have a But we do know now he is said to be displaying mild symptoms on his well enough, essentially to keep working using technology.

So rather than as I understand it, we've already seen those images.

Haven't we have Boris Johnson kissing?

Holding plenty of video missing?

Three Cabinet was already held using video links this week.

So for now he's stepping back from the job that he's doing a house of running the government's response.

There is a kind of stand by dominant route.

The foreign secretary is the person who would step up if the prime minister needed to take some time off work that as well.

Now, despite having the on the poor, Staunton is still in charge of how the government is trying to fight this on your This will raise questions about the conduct, the amount of social social distancing around the prime minister and the point at which it was brought in because we all saw him at those busy news conferences on in Parliament until only days ago.

Yes, that's right.

I mean, things have moved so quickly, quickly, but it is some time now.

Nadine Dorries, who was the health minister, was confirmed to have had the disease, and at that point that felt like a real to the shock in Westminster.

It's become quite clear, some saying that Western through itself was seen at the Bar of Westminster, which is, of course, not just the sort of political village has bean seem to be one of the hot spots off the disease on there have been various, and peace has been off self vital.

Ating various officials in Whitehall has been off self isolating.

But until I think Sarah stay last week, the prime minister was appearing a podium, Um, at a press conference certainly much closer than two meters away from, uh, other very critical people to get to this effort, the governments to scientists and the chief medical adviser for the whole country.

But Danny Shoot had taken steps to change that in recent days.

Those press conferences for example, have been in the last few days being taking place online.

But we do not have a this stage, the sort of calendar when he felt ill, when he therefore might have Bean aware that he could have been in a position to test positive.

But as you suggest, there will be very close interest in the date on.

We may well find out more through the day.

Laura.

We've just got up on screen.

Or let's bring it back up the tweet from the prime minister himself.

But while we're looking at that, could you just remind for any viewers who are just joining us off this very significant breaking news, obviously, for the government's governance commander, control of the entire code fight.

That's right.

Just in the last few minutes carry, we've learned people are just turning on at the prime minister.

Boris Johnson has tested positive for current of Iris himself.

He's understood, too, and they have mild symptoms, and now he will be self isolating in number and on.

And the plan is at the moment is for him to continue the job off, trying to pull together the country's response to what is a genuine crisis, a health crisis and an economic crisis to there are no plans stands for him to hand over the reins to the foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, who has the officials that have number two role in this kind of situation, if you were to become so ill that he was off.

But for now, apart from using more technology to try to keep the prime minister away from people who have not contracted the infection, he is trying to carry on.

Certainly not business as usual, Um, but business says something like where he's still in charge, and I we we know that he actually says he's only developed symptoms over the last 24 hours.

Um, but of course, Downing Street is a, you know, a place where there are lots of people going in and out all of the time.

We know some of his key staff.

The Brexit negotiator, for example, went off last week with symptoms.

I understand the various other important official to have bean off to, but the prime minister himself now has become the latest public figure to fall victim to this illness.

Of course, the heir to the throne of course is also tested positive for Corona virus, which is clearly an infection that doesn't respect any boundaries.

Clearly, anybody Apple could fall victim to this, but I would stress at the moment the prime minister says he has mild symptoms.

There is no question at this point or something much more serious.

And Laura, a sensitive question about access to testing because access is testing has been such a controversy over the past couple of weeks.

On we saw on Wednesday, when the Prince of Wales, Prince Charles, tested positive.

There was some questions from some figures in the NHS about what made him qualify for the test, when many of those who are on the front line off the actual clinical fight against covert 19 are not getting the testing that they are demanding.

So I suppose here is the prime minister with mild symptoms and he has been tested Well, that's right.

I mean, I think that testing has become one of the key issues and one of the most controversial things about the government's handling of this.

You know where they prepared enough?

Why does it appear that Britain is struggling to get the kinds of numbers of testing the kind of program of testing that other countries have.

I think well, it's very understandable that Israel anxiety, particularly by medical staff, not having access to test I think that most people would probably think that trying to track the prime minister's health at a time when the prime minister and the government are obviously under huge pressure, trying to make sure that the country actually had the way through this crisis.

I think most people would probably think it's reasonable that people like him in Downing Street would have access to testing.

But as you said, there is a question testing where the lack their old is absolutely one of the pressure points of the government's handling of all of this.

No doubt about that.

On a Laura I know you need t get on and make more calls or around this one a lot.

One last question to you just on the subject of testing.

Of course, until a few days ago, the policy waas to test the individual who had symptoms and then also to trace and test those with whom they've been in contact.

And I'm sure along Queen subjects will be glad to have seen in the last few hours the photograph of herself within a telephone meeting with the prime minister in the light of these developments rather than in a face to face for their regular meeting.

But that question of the prime minister tracing the prime minister now testing positive the tracing of all those with whom he's being in contact as you point out, many of them in very critical roles that is going to be concerned, Yes.

I mean, if you think the people, the lineup of the people who are in these vital meetings on go warn in Downing Street trying to tackle the government's handling of this, Of course there's the chief medical officer that you pontificate by there for the whole country.

Other senior Cabinet ministers, the Cabinet secretary is in charge of making the white hole machine work at this time.

The chancellor, of course, who has bean, you know, ramping up these enormous changes to the financial system to try to stay both very, very serious economic diamond out, of course, in Parliament this week, you know, the prime minister was at prime minister's questions just on Wednesday.

Now, MPs were saying further, apart from each other than they normally do.

But you know, the with Mr is a very busy and bustling place.

Pull off people who carry out very important rules for the country like them or loathe them.

It's somewhere where business is done that is vital to the whole country.

Now, at the moment it is comparatively deserted.

It's a bit of a ghost time on the street.

But of course, inside government department, things are happening at a rated not very frantically indeed.

Of course, this will be, you know, if I'm sorry for lost people Remember Parliament itself closed early.

They rose to use the jargon on that.

And they wrote Charlie, um, on on Wednesday after emergency legislation had been passed.

The Parliament itself is not sitting, you know, behind the roles of White Hole.

Even there might be hardly anybody in the street.

There is work going on that is vital to all of us, Prime Minister, after the heirs to the throne, you know, the second enormously significant persons who have come down with the illness, I would stress that people are just tuning in at the moment.

What we know is that Boris Johnson developed symptoms in the last 24 hours.

He was advised to have a test by the chief medical officer.

He has tested positive, but it's displaying mild symptoms on is still trying to carry on with the job and will self isolate in numbers head for now.

Laura, thanks so much for some.