The United Kingdom is one of the world's five official nuclear weapon states and has four nuclear submarines armed with Trident II D5 ballistic missiles loaded with nuclear warheads The British government declined on Tuesday to say who had responsibility for the United Kingdom's nuclear codes while Prime Minister Boris Johnson is treated in intensive care for COVID-19 complications.
When asked by the BBC if Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab had been handed the nuclear codes while Johnson receives treatment, Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove said: "There are well developed protocols which are in place." "I just really cannot talk about national security issues," Gove said.