Boris Johnson plans to resign in 6 months because of lingering coronavirus health problems, according to Dominic Cummings' father-in-law

Authored by businessinsider.com and submitted by DaFunkJunkie
image for Boris Johnson plans to resign in 6 months because of lingering coronavirus health problems, according to Dominic Cummings' father-in-law

The father-in-law of UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson's chief adviser has apparently said that Johnson plans to resign in six months.

Dominic Cummings' father-in-law, Humphry Wakefield, reportedly told a woman interviewed by The Times of London that the prime minister would quit early next year over lingering health problems caused by the coronavirus.

Johnson was admitted to an intensive-care unit with COVID-19 in April but returned to work just weeks later.

Wakefield is said to have compared Johnson's condition to that of an injured horse that returns to work too soon.

"If you put a horse back to work when it's injured, it will never recover," he was quoted as saying.

A Downing Street source described the claim Johnson planned to stand down as "utter nonsense."

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The father-in-law of UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson's closest aide has reportedly said Johnson plans to stand down in six months because of lingering health problems caused by the novel coronavirus.

The Times of London's Diary column reported a conversation between Humphry Wakefield, the father of Dominic Cummings' wife, Mary, and a woman named Anna Silverman last week in which he is said to have told her that Johnson would resign early next year because of the lasting effects of his time in intensive care.

Silverman told The Times she had the conversation with Wakefield when she bumped into him on a trip to Chillingham Castle in the northeastern English county of Northumberland.

Wakefield is said to have compared Johnson's condition to that of an injured horse that is brought back too early.

"If you put a horse back to work when it's injured, it will never recover," The Times quoted him as saying.

A Downing Street source strongly denied the claim that Johnson was planning to resign in six months, describing it to Business Insider as "utter nonsense."

Johnson spent five days in intensive care at London's St. Thomas' Hospital in April after catching the coronavirus. He has since said that doctors made "arrangements" for his death and that he was given "liters and liters of oxygen" at the height of his illness to keep him alive.

"It was a tough old moment, I won't deny it. They had a strategy to deal with a 'death of Stalin'-type scenario," Johnson said in an interview with The Sun in May.

"I was not in particularly brilliant shape and I was aware there were contingency plans in place."

Multiple reports in the months following his hospitalization have indicated his health remains poor.

Downing Street, however, has been keen to dispel any suggestions of lingering health problems, with the prime minister posing for photographs while doing press-ups and with photos of Johnson jogging being distributed to UK news outlets.

Johnson has been UK prime minister for just over a year after succeeding Theresa May as the Conservative leader in July 2019.

He would have to stay on as prime minister for nearly four more years to fight the next general election, which is due to take place in May 2024.

En_TioN on August 25th, 2020 at 14:03 UTC »

This is frankly the biggest game of telephone I've ever seen published.

"Dominic Cummings’ father-in-law, Humphry Wakefield, reportedly told a woman interviewed by The Times of London that the prime minister would quit early next year over lingering health problems caused by the coronavirus."

So to make that clear, Boris Johnson's advisor's wife's father told a woman who told a newspaper, which was then reported on by another newspaper, that Boris plans to resign.

I don't agree with the UK government on much, but I'm not surprised they said it's bullshit

Ganglebot on August 25th, 2020 at 12:56 UTC »

"yo, my mate's dad heard down at the pub that his buddy's sister heard that Boris is going to quit in like 6 months."

This is what British politics sounds like sometimes.

stranglethebars on August 25th, 2020 at 12:39 UTC »

From the article:

The father-in-law of UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson's chief adviser has apparently said that Johnson plans to resign in six months.

Also from the article:

A Downing Street source described the claim Johnson planned to stand down as "utter nonsense."

Who to believe?