Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been admitted to hospital for tests as his coronavirus symptoms persist, Downing Street has said.

A Downing Street spokeswoman said: “On the advice of his doctor, the Prime Minister has tonight been admitted to hospital for tests.

“This is a precautionary step, as the Prime Minister continues to have persistent symptoms of coronavirus 10 days after testing positive for the virus.

“The Prime Minister thanks NHS staff for all of their incredible hard work and urges the public to continue to follow the Government’s advice to stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives.”

It has been reported that it was not an emergency admission and the PM remains in control of the Goverment and colleagues. 

The Foreign Secretary would stand in if Mr Johnson was unable to continue in his role. 

Mr Johnson was last seen in public on Thursday when he was on the doorstep of No 10 Downing Street applauding the NHS and key health workers. 

New Labour leader Keir Starmer tweeted: "Wishing the Prime Minister well and a speedy recovery."

A Number 10 spokesman insisted Mr Johnson remains "in charge of the Government" despite his hospital admission, and he has not handed responsibilities to his de facto deputy Dominic Raab.

However, Mr Raab is likely to chair the daily Covid-19 meeting on Monday morning for ministers and officials, which is usually led by the PM.

the Prime Minster is understood to be in an NHS hospital in London, where he will stay for "as long as needed".

Mr Johnson announced on March 27 that he had tested positive for Covid-19 and was self-isolating with "mild symptoms" including a high temperature and persistent cough.

GP Dr Sarah Jarvis told the BBC it is likely the Prime Minister has “moderate” symptoms of coronavirus.

“The majority of people who develop coronavirus will have mild symptoms – that’s probably 80 per cent or so,” she said.

“The older you become the more likely it is that you will become severely unwell with this.

“There is a severe stage, a moderate stage and a critical stage.”

Dr Jarvis, who is not Mr Johnson’s doctor, added: “Given he is staying in charge of the Government, that suggests to me that he probably has moderate disease but that, as a precaution, he is being taken in to check the oxygen levels in his blood, to do X-rays and probably scans of his chest.

“And to do blood tests to see for instance what his white cell counts look like and what his liver functions look like.”