The Prime Minister today become a dad for the sixth time after the pair announced the birth of a “healthy baby boy”.
It comes just 16 days after Boris fought for his life in intensive care with coronavirus – and after Carrie’s own fight with the deadly bug.
A spokesman for Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds said: “The Prime Minister and Ms Symonds are thrilled to announce the birth of a healthy baby boy at a London hospital earlier this morning. Both mother and baby are doing very well.
“The PM and Ms Symonds would like to thank the fantastic NHS maternity team.”
Only returning to work this week, the PM had previously suggested he would take time off after the little one was born.
Asked if he would take paternity leave last month, the PM said: “Almost certainly yes”.
However, this is now in doubt with Britain currently facing its biggest crisis since the war.
His stand-in Dominic Raab had repeatedly praised his leadership, and numerous other Ministers insisted they needed the PM back as soon as possible.
Taking time off to welcome the boy could see the PM enjoy up to two weeks off, compared to the 52 weeks available for new mums.
Any break cannot begin before the birth of their baby and must end within 56 days of the birth.
The couple, who have been together for around two years, got engaged at the end of last year but kept it secret from all but their closest pals until recently.
Thrilled Carrie — already the first unmarried partner of a sitting PM — revealed she was engaged last month with an Instagram picture of Boris kissing her on the cheek.
She wrote: “I wouldn’t normally post this kind of thing on here but I wanted my friends to find out from me. Many of you already know but for my friends that still don’t, we got engaged at the end of last year . . . and we’ve got a baby hatching early summer. Feel incredibly blessed.”
The shock announcement came just 11 days after Boris, 55, reached a settlement with his estranged wife Marina Wheeler, with whom he has four children, aged 20 to 26.
