PM is just the leader of the largest party.

The PM's position at the moment will be useful data for science.

he wasn't better after 7 days, he has got worse after 7 days, he can't be the first one.

Yes we do, first Secretary of State.

I just love how the BBC grits it's teeth and plays along with the official narrative coming from the government, not even acknowledging that they have been lying about his poor condition.

"With No 10 saying..." "The message from Downing Street is..."

They must be terrified of the potential consequences of pointing out that they are not being truthful.

Unlike the President of the US, the UK PM has no real power on their own. Instead their power comes from the fact that they have the support of a majority (or at least a plurality) of MPs. So there's little need to formalize the "succession" of the position of PM.

Israeli Health Minister who said coronavirus is "a divine punishment against homosexuality" has just tested positive

Now that’s irony that even Alanis could grasp.

Has anyone investigated the obvious?

I hate to laugh at someone's misfortune, but this is kinda funny in a truly morbid way. That said, I don't wish death on anyone (that is a lie, but in general) so i hope he pulls through.

The Onion comes to real life.

15 stone
5 ft 9 inches was stated on RNZ

He should be handing over the job of pm immediately till he recovers.

That's 210 lbs. Too much. Throw out some stones.

The BBC is just a tame puppy now.

Recovers from what.....

News reporting isn't the place for editorials (which most "news" reports seem to have forgotten).

Not to mention that if the BBC had gone around suggesting his condition was worse without hard evidence they would have been crucified by the right wing press for 'scaremongering'.

That's excellent news. I hope it catches on, because unemployment will be severe across the world.

You could have mentioned that six months ago!

What a difference here in Canada. When our prime minister's wife tested positive for covid-19, the prime minister himself went into self-isolation. Sophie has now recovered, but Justin is still practising social distancing.

Apparently "news" according to BBC standards is simply quoting the government verbatim even when it's clear that the government is lying. Doing otherwise would be tantamount to political bias and partisanship.

This of course completely unrelated to the fact that BJ and the conservative party has put the BBC in their crosshairs.

Meanwhile Trump says American CEOs are lining up to offer BJ the enviable position of being a human guinea pig for experimental treatments. Yay!

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/...on-to-hospital

This is the kind of biased, partisan and unfair editorializing that you won't find in the latest official government press release quoted by the BBC.

Indeed. When Trudeau does his daily hour long press conference he is alone - no posse. He answers every question and has not once criticized any member of the press. Quite refreshing.

Yes we have a very clear line of succession of the head of state, which is the equivalent. Elizabeth, Charles, William, George etc. The head of state will appoint his or her first (prime) minister. If there were a real crisis then the Queen (or King) in council has authority. Cabinet government is not the same as presidential government, most ministers as ministers of the crown have authority in their own right derived from the sovereign.

FWIW since I and other doctors can't tell who will deteriorate and become ill, I don't know how you expect a journalist to. Certainly no doctor would be telling a journalist about their patient's condition. That a fifty year old male had deteriorated after two weeks of being ill with covid-19 was no surprise, but the day before I could not have predicted that. Once he had deteriorated at that stage to needing oxygen, I thought that was serious and he might need ITU. Yes he now has a life threatening illness. I can't give you real odds, but he might need ventilation in the next two or three days. The problem is people with this condition 'drop off the perch' to use a technical term with little warning.

FWIW in this situation the security issues may have precipitated early transfer to ITU; ITU areas are easy to maintain security access than general wards.

Yes, I've been advocating for UBI for quite a while now. I was primarily looking at things like automation, but this current crisis certainly has exacerbated things.

The good news is that Spain is looking to make it permanent. That's good news for the Spaniards, and good news for the citizens of other countries whose leaders might take it already being an established model as a sign that it could work in their countries too.

I don't know whether it'll happen in other countries, but it happening in Spain makes it more likely. The longer the pandemic continues to disrupt life, the more necessary other countries may see it as being. The fact that it's not just the poorest people who are being affected should also help provide some impetus.

The BB is not parting with power. I expect even when he's intubated and drugg he'll still "be in charge".

:p

Of course the BBC should report what the government actually says without alteration.

You are mixing up investigative journalism, journalism, news reporting and editorial, they are all distinct aspects of related topics.

I don't want the BBC to tell me what I should think about what the government is saying, I want them to accurately report what the government is saying. I can make my own mind up as to the truthfulness of the what the government is saying.

It appears the knowledge that he was more seriously ill than what Downing Street was saying was known by many newspapers and so on. None of those chose to break the news.

Now if they had then the BBC when reporting the news would have covered that.

When was that published?

Was that by popular demand?

This is a short video report of what ICU is like at the moment in a London hospital.

BBC News - Coronavirus: Inside an ICU fighting Covid-19
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-52190961


No way has Johnson been taken to ICU because of who he is as a precaution or for security reasons and so on. He is in a ICU because he is critically ill.

Have you seen the photo in that article of Raab and the lack of social distancing? I am absolutely flabbergasted, even with Johnson critically ill they still don't think the rules should apply to them!https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...08c316658f.jpg

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1247466300236017664

More in subsequent tweets.

According to the page (it's to the left of the article, under the author names...bit faint, click o the date and you get the original published date):

First published on Mon 6 Apr 2020 20.23 BST

So yesterday evening, after we all found out he was not doing all that well.

Based on what other information? How can you know the truthfulness of what the government is saying unless news outlets also rigorously analyze the official government statements and provide a broader perspective?

But is your argument that the BBC, supported by taxes, is not a real news agency and is really just another arm of government? And must therefore be some completely bland conduit of whatever is fed them? Their reputation in the past in the USA is far higher. And people deserve more from their taxes IMHO.

So yes, the BBC should report press releases and official statements by the government. But they should also provide relevant facts that support or question the government’s position. This is the true role of journalism.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-52201048