Newspaper headlines: \'Boris is a fighter\' and \'PM power vacuum fears\'

Newspaper headlines: 'Boris is a fighter' and 'PM power vacuum fears'

By BBC News Staff
Daily Mail 8 April 2020
Image caption Wednesday's papers continue to focus on the condition of Boris Johnson as he spends a second night in an intensive care unit with coronavirus. The Daily Mail reports Mr Johnson's deputy, Dominic Raab, as saying the PM is a "fighter" who will "pull through".
Daily Express 8 April 2020
Image caption "Get well soon Boris," is the message from a team of medical staff at the George Eliot Hospital in Warwickshire on the front of the Daily Express. The paper reflects how Mr Raab described the PM as "not just our boss... he's our friend".
Daily Telegraph 8 April 2020
Image caption Questions over who is making decisions while Mr Johnson is still in intensive care lead the Daily Telegraph. The paper says Mr Raab has "cast doubt" on whether the UK's lockdown will be reviewed as previously promised on Easter Monday.
Guardian 8 April 2020
Image caption "Power vacuum fears," is how the Guardian describes the situation as it claims Mr Raab has been "denied authority" to act without the agreement of the full cabinet of senior ministers.
The Sun 8 April 2020
Image caption The Sun urges its readers to stay at home and pray for Boris Johnson. The paper describes a nation united in wishing Mr Johnson well as he fights Covid-19.
FT 8 April 2020
Image caption The apparent admission by the UK government's chief medical adviser Chris Whitty that Germany's testing regime may offer some lessons to the government leads the Financial Times. It says the UK is struggling to carry out 15,000 coronavirus tests a day, while Germany regularly reaches 50,000.
i paper 8 April 2020
Image caption "Caretaker PM may be needed," says the i paper, which points out Mr Johnson is not on a ventilator device, but is receiving oxygen. It says that should Mr Raab fall ill, Chancellor Rishi Sunak is next in line to lead the government.
Metro 8 April 2020
Image caption "We're with you Boris," says the Metro. It points out that Mr Johnson's fiancee Carrie Symonds cannot visit her partner in hospital and it reports the Queen's message of support for her prime minister.
The Times 8 April 2020
Image caption "Britain sends message of hope to battling Johnson", is the the headline in the Times. The paper's story notes the cautious optimism voiced by the government's leading scientist that the UK's coronavirus infection rate "could be moving in the right direction".
Daily Star 8 April 2020
Image caption The Daily Star meanwhile swerves more virus coverage to warn it could be "Saturday night hay fever" for many as pollen counts soar to a 70-year high this weekend.

Fears of a power vacuum at the top of government - as Boris Johnson continues his stay in intensive care - feature prominently on Wednesday's newspaper front pages.

The Daily Telegraph says the prime minister's de facto deputy Dominic Raab is facing a situation "without recent historical precedent" - and urgent questions about his authority to dictate any changes in the government's response to the coronavirus crisis.

Cabinet sources tell the paper that Mr Johnson will still take major decisions as long as he remains able to express his wishes, but that in his absence, senior ministers have "differing views" on whether to extend the current lockdown next week.

The HuffPost UK website says there are particular tensions between the Treasury and the Department of Health and Social Care on the way forward.

Image copyright PA Media
Image caption Dominic Raab is deputising for the prime minister

The Sun quotes another unnamed government figure who suggests Mr Raab is "heavily constrained" as the prime minister's stand-in and needs "collective responsibility on anything substantial", such as the approval of military action.

The New Statesman website also points out that the foreign secretary cannot hire or dismiss other ministers - and will not hold a weekly audience with the Queen.

For the Guardian, the UK is facing a "crisis of authority" at a time when public approval for extending social distancing measures will need to be won and maintained.

"The weeks to come", it goes on in an editorial, "will require some of the most fraught political calls any peacetime government has had to make".

Several papers carry Dominic Raab's comments that the prime minister is a "fighter" who will "pull through".

Meanwhile, 16 NHS staff at the George Eliot Hospital in Warwickshire - dressed in plastic aprons and surgical masks - are pictured on the front of the Daily Express, holding a homemade "get well soon" sign for Mr Johnson.

And the Sun pictures the prime minister on the steps of Downing Street last Thursday applauding health workers, telling readers: "he stayed at work for you, now pray at home for him".

The Daily Mirror also wishes the PM a rapid recovery, but insists his stay in hospital must not be allowed to blunt accountability and scrutiny of the government.

Elsewhere, according to the Times, British biotech companies could soon be asked to work together to produce a finger-prick antibody test that detects whether someone has had coronavirus, providing a possible route out of the lockdown.

The paper suggests that ministers are turning away from the idea of sourcing such a test abroad, after other products ordered and evaluated by the government proved unreliable.

The ultimate goal, the Times says, is to have a kit accurate enough to allow millions of people to test themselves at home, generating a result within a few minutes.

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The Financial Times says people in parts of Europe are reporting shortages of an anti-malaria drug used to ease the symptoms of lupus and rheumatoid arthritis - after US President Donald Trump claimed it could combat Covid-19.

A survey of lupus sufferers across Europe found that up to 60% of patients were not able to buy hydroxychloroquine in chemists in recent weeks, even though there is no robust evidence it can treat coronavirus. India has already restricted exports of the drug.

Finally, the Daily Mail provides some light relief - with the upcoming auction of a highly unusual bathroom suite.

The French sculptor, Francois-Xavier Lalanne, crafted the bath, toilet and bidet set in the shape of a mother hippopotamus and two babies - even building a vanity unit into the mother's mouth.

Sotheby's - which is selling the lot in Paris this summer - expects it to fetch up to £2.2m. The Mail says the suite is also in full working order, providing the perfect opportunity for a wealthy, art-loving bidder to wallow in luxury.