Boris Johnson put under general anaesthetic for hospital operation as Dominic Raab runs country

Surgery was scheduled for some time and was not an emergency, Downing Street says

Prime minister Boris Johnson was placed under general anaesthetic for a routine operation on his sinuses this morning, Downing Street has said.

Responsibility for any “significant decisions” facing the government was passed over to deputy prime minister Dominic Raab for a 24-hour period from the start of the operation.

Mr Johnson was driven to an NHS hospital in London around 6am on Monday morning and was put under anaesthetic shortly afterwards for the operation, which No 10 described as “minor”.

The op - which had been scheduled for some time and was not an emergency - was described as a success and Mr Johnson returned to Downing Street around 10am, where he is spending the day resting.

The prime minister’s official spokesperson said: “He went to hospital around 6am and the operation was carried out first thing this morning.

“He was back in Downing Street shortly after 10am.”

Asked how the PM was feeling, the spokesman said he had not spoken to him since his return to Downing Street but that he was resting at home.

The timing of Mr Johnson’s return to work would depend on how he feels, but he was planning to chair Tuesday morning’s Cabinet meeting, according to the spokesperson.

Asked who was in charge of the UK nuclear accounts during the procedure, the spokesperson said Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab and Cabinet Secretary Simon Case were aware in advance and that Mr Johnson was under for a “relatively brief time”.

Mr Johnson’s sinus issue was not understood to be related to his Covid illness in 2020.

The prime minister spent three nights in intensive care at St Thomas’ Hospital, in London, in April 2020, later saying that doctors were preparing to announce his death from coronavirus.

Medics gave him “litres and litres of oxygen”, he said, and there were “contingency plans in place” should the worst happen.

After a fortnight convalescing from the virus, and just two days after he returned to work full-time, his then-fiancee Carrie Symonds gave birth to their son, Wilfred.

They named him after their grandfathers, and two doctors – Dr Nick Price and Prof Nick Hart – who helped save Mr Johnson’s life.