Who has Britain nuclear button while PM Boris Johnson is ill?

LONDON: The British government declined on Tuesday to say who had responsibility for the United Kingdom’s nuclear codes while Prime Minister Boris Johnson is treated in intensive care for COVID-19 complications.

When asked by the BBC if Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab had been handed the nuclear codes while Johnson receives treatment, Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove said: “There are well developed protocols which are in place.”

“I just really cannot talk about national security issues,” Gove said.

The United Kingdom is one of the world’s five official nuclear weapon states and has four nuclear submarines armed with Trident II D5 ballistic missiles loaded with nuclear warheads. The United Kingdom has a stockpile of about 215 nuclear warheads, though about 120 are operationally available.

Only the British prime minister can authorise a nuclear strike. Such an order would be transmitted to one of Britain’s nuclear submarines with a special set of codes.

UK PM Johnson in intensive care with worsening coronavirus symptoms

Johnson’s personal battle with the virus has shaken the British government just as the United Kingdom enters what scientists say is likely to be one of the most deadly weeks of the pandemic, which has already killed 70,000 people worldwide.

Johnson, 55, was admitted to St Thomas’ Hospital across the River Thames from the House of Commons late on Sunday after suffering persistent coronavirus symptoms, including a high temperature and a cough, for more than 10 days.

His condition rapidly deteriorated over the next 24 hours, and he was moved to an intensive care unit – where the most serious cases are treated. Although he had received oxygen, his office said he was still conscious.