British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, will ‘take paternity leave later in the year’ after he and fiancée Carrie Symonds welcomed their first child together this morning (Wednesday).
The prime minister is said to want to keep a ‘firm grip’ on important decisions about the coronavirus lockdown after returning from three weeks’ sick leave.
Speaking to Metro.co.uk earlier this morning, Downing Street said no plan had been outlined to them yet, but a formal announcement would be made soon on this issue.
The Tory leader had previously suggested that he intended to take the time off.
When questioned on the topic at a Downing Street news conference in early March, he replied: ‘Almost certainly, yes.’
However, it remained unclear if his stance had changed, as the UK continues to battle the Covid-19 pandemic.
In the UK, new fathers can take up to two weeks’ statutory paternity leave and eligible employees are paid whichever is lower of £148.68 a week or 90 per cent of their average weekly earnings.
If the PM took paternity leave, he would follow in the footsteps of David Cameron, who took his statutory two weeks’ leave after he and wife Samantha welcomed daughter Florence in 2010.
