BORIS Johnson has been spotted paying a visit to a mjor hopsital in Essex.

The Prime Minister is reportedly walking around the Mersea Ward of Colchester Hospital, in Turner Road.

He is said to be speaking with doctors and nurses, as well as patients who are now Covid-free.

The 56-year-old Conservative politician battled coronavirus himself last April, just weeks after he put the country into lockdown for the first time.

Mr Johnson spent three nights in the ICU at St Thomas' Hospital, in London, where he was put on a ventilator.

According to one eyewitness, a police van was seen stationed outside the hospital prior to the Prime Minister's arrival, and the hospital's chief executive was also present. 

One patient who is currently on the Mersea Ward said she briefly got to meet Mr Johnson this morning. 

She said: "I have seen him on the television so much in recent times, so it was almost like meeting one of your neighbours or something.

"The backlog of patients as a result of coronavirus is also why he is visiting."He is also getting a general feel as to what has been happening at the hospital and how everyone is.

Echo:

The Prime Minister's visit came the day after Dominic Cummings gave evidence to MPs on Wednesday regarding the handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

Mr Johnson told reporters on a visit to the hospital that lockdowns were a “very, very painful and traumatic thing” that had to be “set against the horror of the pandemic” and that he had followed the scientific data.

The East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Colchester Hospital, has been contacted for comment.

More information as we get it.