Deputy PM Dominic Raab admits he has not spoken to hospitalised Boris Johnson since Saturday

Dominic Raab said he has not spoken to Boris Johnson since Saturday.

Dominic Raab has admitted that he has not spoken to Boris Johnson since before he was admitted to hospital to be treated for coronavirus.

The First Secretary of State - Mr Johnson's de facto deputy - said he and the Prime Minister had not had a conversation since Saturday.

That was the day before the PM was hospitalised on the recommendation of his doctors for "precautionary" tests after failing to shake off symptoms of the deadly illness.

Mr Raab stood in for Mr Johnson at a meeting of the Government's Covid-19 committee on Monday morning, and will continue to do so until he is discharged.

Number 10 has insisted the Prime Minister continues to lead the Government, and is even signing official documents from his hospital bed.

At the daily Downing Street press conference, the Foreign Secretary was pressed on when he last spoke to the PM.

He said: "I spoke to the PM on Saturday.. that was the last time I spoke to him in person."

On Mr Johnson's health, he said: "He’s in charge, but he’ll continue to take doctors' advice on what to do next and we have a team that is full throttle making sure that his directions are being followed through."

Mr Raab added: "The PM is in charge, he is leading the government and giving directions as and when required."

Earlier, the Prime Minister had tweeted that he was "in good spirits".

He said: "Last night, on the advice of my doctor, I went into hospital for some routine tests as I’m still experiencing coronavirus symptoms.

"I’m in good spirits and keeping in touch with my team, as we work together to fight this virus and keep everyone safe."

Meanwhile, Mr Raab also played down any expectations that the Government will relax some of the lockdown restrictions when they are reviewed next week.

Speaking as the number of people in the UK to die from Covid-19 rose by 439 to 5,373, he said: "We do not want to confuse the message right now.

"We are not past the peak, to get past the peak we must have people respecting the guidelines otherwise we undo all he good work that people have contributed to."