London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Dec 17, 2025

Boris Johnson 'won't self-isolate despite aide testing positive for Covid'

Boris Johnson 'won't self-isolate despite aide testing positive for Covid'

Boris Johnson won’t self-isolate despite a member of his team testing positive for Covid-19.

An aide who travelled to Scotland with the prime minister this week has reportedly been confirmed to have contracted the virus.

According to CNN, the PM continued with his tour despite the positive test among his entourage.

The person in question was with Mr Johnson on Wednesday and flew with him to Aberdeen before testing positive when they landed, an unnamed source told the broadcaster.

More than one member of the team had to go into isolation but Downing Street has confirmed Mr Johnson will not.

The Guardian claimed the pair were ‘side-by-side’ on several occasions but this has been denied by Number 10.

A Downing Street spokesperson told paper: ‘The prime minister regularly visits communities across the UK and all aspects of visits are carried out in line with covid guidance.

‘The prime minister has not come into close contact with anyone who has tested positive.’

Boris Johnson visited a number of premises on his visit to Scotland this week


It’s unclear what social-distancing measure were in place during the trip and how closely the aide was working with Mr Johnson.

From August 16, people who have received two doses of the vaccine will no longer need to self-isolate if they come into contact with a positive case.

But with 10 days to go, it remains to be seen if Mr Johnson will be contacted by NHS Test and Trace.

The confirmed positive case on his staff could risk a repeat of the U-turn after health secretary Sajid Javid caught the coronavirus.

Officials initially said the PM and chancellor Rishi Sunak would not isolate for 10 days but backed down after a fierce public backlash.

The pair were going to participate in a ‘trial study’ meaning they could be tested everyday rather than stay at home.

Mr Johnson later said in a video that he ‘did look briefly at the idea’ of avoiding self-isolation but reversed the position after just a couple of hours.

Labour Party Chief Anneliese Dodds accused the PM of ‘taking the public for fools’.

She said: ‘It’s clear the Prime Minister hasn’t learned anything from what happened last time he tried to cook up a reason to be above the rules everyone else has to follow.

‘Senior Conservatives are really taking the public for fools.

‘This is yet another example of one rule for them and another for everyone else.’

The trip to Scotland has not been the PR hit the Prime Minister might have hoped for.

He sparked fury by claiming Margaret Thatcher gave the UK a ‘big early start’ in the fight against climate change by closing mines, a deindustrialisation programme which decimated communities in the 1980s.

The comments were slammed as ‘shameful’ by Labour leader Keir Starmer, who said they amounted to ‘brushing off the devastating impact on those communities with a laugh’.

Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon has also criticised Mr Johnson for declining to meet with her to discuss post-pandemic recovery during the visit.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK Issues Final Ultimatum to Roman Abramovich Over £2.5bn Chelsea Sale Funds for Ukraine
Rare Pink Fog Sweeps Across Parts of the UK as Met Office Warns of Poor Visibility
UK Police Pledge ‘More Assertive’ Enforcement to Tackle Antisemitism at Protests
UK Police Warn They Will Arrest Protesters Chanting ‘Globalise the Intifada’
Trump Files $10 Billion Defamation Lawsuit Against BBC as Broadcaster Pledges Legal Defence
UK Says U.S. Tech Deal Talks Still Active Despite Washington’s Suspension of Prosperity Pact
UK Mortgage Rules to Give Greater Flexibility to Borrowers With Irregular Incomes
UK Treasury Moves to Position Britain as Leading Global Hub for Crypto Firms
U.S. Freezes £31 Billion Tech Prosperity Deal With Britain Amid Trade Dispute
Prince Harry and Meghan’s Potential UK Return Gains New Momentum Amid Security Review and Royal Dialogue
Zelensky Opens High-Stakes Peace Talks in Berlin with Trump Envoy and European Leaders
Historical Reflections on Press Freedom Emerge Amid Debate Over Trump’s Media Policies
UK Boosts Protection for Jewish Communities After Sydney Hanukkah Attack
UK Government Declines to Comment After ICC Prosecutor Alleges Britain Threatened to Defund Court Over Israel Arrest Warrant
Apple Shutters All Retail Stores in the United Kingdom Under New National COVID-19 Lockdown
US–UK Technology Partnership Strains as Key Trade Disagreements Emerge
UK Police Confirm No Further Action Over Allegation That Andrew Asked Bodyguard to Investigate Virginia Giuffre
Giuffre Family Expresses Deep Disappointment as UK Police Decline New Inquiry Into Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor Claims
Transatlantic Trade Ambitions Hit a Snag as UK–US Deal Faces Emerging Challenges
Ex-ICC Prosecutor Alleges UK Threatened to Withdraw Funding Over Netanyahu Arrest Warrant Bid
UK Disciplinary Tribunal Clears Carter-Ruck Lawyer of Misconduct in OneCoin Case
‘Pink Ladies’ Emerge as Prominent Face of UK Anti-Immigration Protests
Nigel Farage Says Reform UK Has Become Britain’s Largest Party as Labour Membership Falls Sharply
Google DeepMind and UK Government Launch First Automated AI Lab to Accelerate Scientific Discovery
UK Economy Falters Ahead of Budget as Growth Contracts and Confidence Wanes
Australia Approves Increased Foreign Stake in Strategic Defence Shipbuilder
Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson proclaims, “For Ukraine, surrendering their land would be a nightmare.”
Microsoft Challenges £2.1 Billion UK Cloud Licensing Lawsuit at Competition Tribunal
Fake Doctor in Uttar Pradesh Accused of Killing Woman After Performing YouTube-Based Surgery
Hackers Are Hiding Malware in Open-Source Tools and IDE Extensions
Traveling to USA? Homeland Security moving toward requiring foreign travelers to share social media history
UK Officials Push Back at Trump Saying European Leaders ‘Talk Too Much’ About Ukraine
UK Warns of Escalating Cyber Assault Linked to Putin’s State-Backed Operations
UK Consumer Spending Falters in November as Households Hold Back Ahead of Budget
UK Orders Fresh Review of Prince Harry’s Security Status After Formal Request
U.S. Authorises Nvidia to Sell H200 AI Chips to China Under Security Controls
Trump in Direct Assault: European Leaders Are Weak, Immigration a Disaster. Russia Is Strong and Big — and Will Win
"App recommendation" or disguised advertisement? ChatGPT Premium users are furious
"The Great Filtering": Australia Blocks Hundreds of Thousands of Minors From Social Networks
Mark Zuckerberg Pulls Back From Metaverse After $70 Billion Loss as Meta Shifts Priorities to AI
Nvidia CEO Says U.S. Data-Center Builds Take Years while China ‘Builds a Hospital in a Weekend’
Indian Airports in Turmoil as IndiGo Cancels Over a Thousand Flights, Stranding Thousands
Hollywood Industry on Edge as Netflix Secures Near-$60 Bln Loan for Warner Bros Takeover
Drugs and Assassinations: The Connection Between the Italian Mafia and Football Ultras
Hollywood megadeal: Netflix acquires Warner Bros. Discovery for 83 billion dollars
The Disregard for a Europe ‘in Danger of Erasure,’ the Shift Toward Russia: Trump’s Strategic Policy Document
Two and a Half Weeks After the Major Outage: A Cloudflare Malfunction Brings Down Multiple Sites
UK data-regulator demands urgent clarity on racial bias in police facial-recognition systems
Labour Uses Biscuits to Explain UK Debt — MPs Lean Into Social Media to Reach New Audiences
German President Lays Wreath at Coventry as UK-Germany Reaffirm Unity Against Russia’s Threat
×