COVID-19 crisis: Has PM Johnson's illness put 'Great' Britain in jeopardy?
Boris Johnson and Matt Hancock
On March 3, Boris Johnson boasted about shaking hands with coronavirus patients.
Three weeks later, he developed mild symptoms of the virus and went into self-isolation.
The 55-year-old British prime minister is under critical care. The news couldn't have come at a worse time when Britain is struggling to contain the coronavirus.
Hospitals across the island nation are overwhelmed. The National Health Services (NHS) is under intense pressure.
The death toll has breached the 5,000 mark and the number of confirmed cases is ten times more with 52,000 and counting.
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The Britons are not alone in their struggle, several high-profile names in the government have contracted the deadly disease.
There is agrowing uncertainty about the future of British leadership, the questions are adding up.
Who will lead the United Kingdom if team Johnson is incapacitated?
Does the country have a 'Plan B'?
Who is in charge of the nuclear codes?
The British constitution with its contradictory precedents offers no formal succession scenario.
There is no guidance for such circumstances in the cabinet manual either.
But for now, British foreign secretary Dominic Raab has been tasked with running the country.
Raab once ran against Boris Johnson to be the leader of the Conservative Party and the Prime Minister in 2019.
Dominic Raab is now the stand-by leader of a country which is an official nuclear-weapon state.
The United Kingdom has four nuclear submarines and a stockpile of about 215 nuclear warheads.
The British government has refused to comment on any national security issues because it hasn't dealt with such 'what if' questions in nearly half a century.
June 1953:
The last time Britain dealt with a similar situation was back in June 1953 whenWinston Churchill had suffered a stroke while in office.
Even senior ministers were unaware of his illness.
Churchill surprised doctors and returned to 10 downing street in just two months.
Now another British prime minister is fighting for his life and his illness is not a secret to anyone.
Boris Johnson may have got his 'Churchill moment', but it may not be the one he meant it to be.