British Prime Minister Boris Johnson delivers a joint statement with French President Emmanuel Macron (not seen) before a meeting on Brexit at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, August 22, 2019. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes
Reuters: Who has the UK nuclear button while Johnson is ill? No comment
LONDON (Reuters) - The British government declined on Tuesday to say who had responsibility for the United Kingdom’s nuclear codes while Prime Minister Boris Johnson is treated in intensive care for COVID-19 complications.
When asked by the BBC if Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab had been handed the nuclear codes while Johnson receives treatment, Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove said: “There are well developed protocols which are in place.”
“I just really cannot talk about national security issues,” Gove said.
The United Kingdom is one of the world’s five official nuclear weapon states and has four nuclear submarines armed with Trident II D5 ballistic missiles loaded with nuclear warheads. The United Kingdom has a stockpile of about 215 nuclear warheads, though about 120 are operationally available.
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WNU Editor: No one is saying, but I suspect the person who would control the UK's nuclear codes in the event that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is incapacitated will be this man .... Who is Dominic Raab, Britain's standby leader? (Reuters).
