The Johnson was admitted last night, but his office says his condition worsened during the course of this afternoon.

On on the advice off his medical team, he was moved to the intensive care unit.

Earlier today, the prime minister, who's 55 was said to be in good spirits, receiving treatment for what were called persistent symptoms, including a temperature and a cough.

He tested positive for the disease 10 days ago.

The foreign secretary, Dominik Graf, has been asked to deputize for the prime minister where necessary.

Let's start tonight by going live to our political editor, Laura Kononsberg, at Westminster here.

We've seen in our other strange vacuum for much of the day, with very limited amounts of information about how Boris Johnson wars.

After he was taken to hospital last night, we were told this morning he was in good spirits, even that he was still receiving red boxes full of government business and still in touch with his team.

But shortly after eight o'clock, an official statement from Downing Street with a very different tone.

It's said to be as a precaution.

The prime minister is said to be conscious, but Boris Johnson, tonight just across the Thames, is in intensive care.

Less than a mile from Downing Street, Boris Johnson is in intensive care tonight in a personal fight against the virus that the government and the country is trying to beat.

Could have known on Thursday night that the health workers he applauded would be caring for him like this.

Brief glimpses of Boris Johnson on social media made it clear he was struggling to shake the virus off my seven days of isolation.

Alas, I still have one of the symptoms of minor symptom of I have a temperature.

And so now, after being admitted to hospital last night for tests, he is conscious.

But as a precaution, Downing Street says, has been moved to intensive care on.

The foreign secretary has been asked to step up for now.

During the course of this afternoon, the prime minister's condition worsened and on the advice of the medical team who has moved in to a critical care unit with the prime minister now in intensive care, this is obviously a strongly serious situation.

I mean, how worried should people be about his health and about who's in charge of the government?

Well, the government's business will continue.

Onda prime minister is in safe hands with brilliant team at ST Thomas's Hospital and the focus of the government will continue to be or making sure at the prime minister's direction all the plans for making sure that we can defeat coronavirus and pull the country through this challenge will be taken forward.

Are you confident that the government is in under control tonight?

There's an incredibly strong team spirit behind the prime minister and making sure that we get all of the plans that prime ministers instructed us to deliver to get implemented as soon as possible.

And that's the way we will bring the whole country through the ground, a corona virus challenge that we face right now just after eight o'clock.

The official statement came from Downing Street saying over the course of this afternoon, the condition of the prime minister has worsened and on the advice of his medical team, he's been moved to the intensive care unit at the hospital.

The prime minister has asked the foreign secretary Dominic Raab, who is the first secretary of state to deputize for him.

Where necessary.

The prime minister is receiving excellent care of thanks all NHS staff for their hard work and dedication.

Good wishes from friends and rivals of Boris Johnson's flooded online within minutes from the first minister of Scotland and the brand new Labour leader, and from someone who knows him on the unique job very well.

The prime minister is now suffering seriously from a disease that does not pick and choose Downing Street itself, a place where the virus spread power their protection from harm.

Lawrenceburg, BBC News.

Talk to Laura in a second.

But first, let's go to Vicky Young, our chief political correspondent at ST Thomas's Hospital, where the prime minister's being treated.

What can you add Vicky at this stage to what the hospital authorities are saying?

They're about the prime minister's condition well, after nine days in self isolation, him under the care of doctors here last night and was admitted to hospital.

Now we know that he has been suffering from persistent cough on temperatures, something he couldn't shake off, which is why he was brought into hospital in the first place as worth saying some Thomas's hospitals, one of the top hospitals in the country.

It's just across the bridge from the houses off Parliament Now, we were told by Downing Street area.

The prime mister was working from his hospital bed here.

We understand that he was given oxygen before that decision was made to move him to intensive care.

Now we're told that that has been done as a precaution.

It's being done in case he needed ventilation to aid his recovery.

Now, like thousands of other families have been affected by the Corona virus.

This is extremely worrying time for him and for his family especially, of course, his fiancee, who is pregnant and has been suffering with symptoms of the Corona virus herself.

Picky, many thanks Vicki there at ST Thomas's.

Let's go back across the river to Westminster and Laura's there for us, Laura, you asked Mr Rob directly about the functioning off government.

What did you make of the answer?

Well, I think Dominant route, perhaps notes very surprisingly, looked pretty shocked by how things have bean moving tonight.

The foreign secretary now is technically in charge, as he is the prime minister's official understudy, and he has been requested by Downing Street to deputize for him.

As and when on government insiders are pretty confident.

They say that the way that the Cabinet committees have been designed to try to deal with Corona virus into four different groups looking at all the important elements that will continue to take over one Cabinet minister and said to me that the decision making was pretty crisp, pretty efficient.

This have been happening Whoever was in charge.

But a prime minister, of course, is much more than a political Maskell there, of course, also the most senior decision maker in any government on at a time when there are so many dilemmas about the health and the wealth of the country.

This is obviously a very serious moment for the government on the white hole machine, even for the prime minister, who was popping up every now and again trying to sort of say that he was fine and he was getting better throughout this, it has created a sense already of not that much stability with him being ill and even just when he was in the Downing Street flat.

But now with him in intensive care tonight, even though we should emphasize it's said to be as a precaution.

This is obviously a grave moment, one that's very unsettling for the government at a time like this, which is a genuine national emergency irrespective of your politics.

Of course, this is clearly a terrible time for the government to be without its figurehead.

Laura will talk again later, Thank you very much.

Laura Ginsburg there for us at Westminster.

So as we heard prime ministers, condition worsened during the course of the afternoon.

On That was when the medical team decided it was best to move him into the ST Thomas's intensive care unit.

So let's talk to our health editor, Que Pin that you lots of people will assume automatically that going into intensive care will involve a ventilator on all the other apparatus that we've seen in reports.

Would that assumption be correct?

Well, normally, yes, Hume, we should say it's the sickest patients who go into intensive care so clearly this is a cause for concern.

But the Dining street statement made clear it was a precaution.

He'd been moved to intensive carrots and Thomas ease.

Should he require ventilation to aid his recovery.

That suggests he's not on a mechanical ventilator to help his breathing, which would require sedation, But he will be requiring oxygen through a mask or nasal e.

Now he'll be continuously monitored oxygen levels in his blood.

His kidney function on heart rate will be a nursing ratio.

Probably have one toe, one in intensive care.

Those ratios have been pushed back a bit because of pressure through covert 19 patient numbers.

They'll be consultants on call through the night to monitor his condition, to see how things are getting on.

And, I should say, the team, Its intimacies are experienced, encoded.

19.

They were one of the first hospitals to take patients with Corona virus in early February as a specialist infectious diseases center.

We'll have another update from you later, Hugh.