U.K.’s Boris Johnson Announces Birth of Son With Partner Carrie Symonds

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson was back in his Downing Street office on Wednesday afternoon after joining his fiancee Carrie Symonds in the hospital for the birth of their son in the morning.

“The prime minister and Ms Symonds are thrilled to announce the birth of a healthy baby boy at a London hospital earlier this morning,” a spokesperson for the couple said in an emailed statement. “Both mother and baby are doing very well.”

Johnson, 55, announced in February that he would marry Symonds, 32, and that they were expecting a baby in early summer. They were the first unmarried couple officially to live together in Downing Street when he became prime minister last July. Johnson has been married twice before.

Johnson will take a “short period” of paternity leave later in the year, his spokesman said. The prime minister only returned to work on Monday, three weeks after being hospitalized for Covid-19, including a stint in critical care. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab deputized for Johnson at Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons on Wednesday.

In the U.K., fathers are entitled to take two weeks of paternity leave and some choose to split their partner’s maternity leave entitlement as well. Symonds gave birth at a state-run National Health Service hospital, Johnson’s spokesman said.

Johnson held a call with opposition Labour Party Leader Keir Starmer on Wednesday to update him on the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. A spokeswoman for Starmer described the meeting as “a constructive conversation” and said they would have another discussion next week.

“Wonderful news,” Starmer tweeted about the birth of Johnson’s child earlier Wednesday. “Many congratulations to Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds.”

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon also tweeted her congratulations, adding that she wished “health and happiness to the wee one.”

Previous prime ministers David Cameron and Tony Blair also celebrated the birth of babies during their time in Number 10. Johnson fathered four children with his previous wife, Marina Wheeler, but won’t discuss how many others he has.

When asked during the election campaign for his total number of children, Johnson refused to say.

“I love my children very much,” he told LBC radio. “But they are not standing at this election.”

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