Boris and Carrie Johnson announce birth of baby daughter

By Sebastian Shukla, CNN

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his wife Carrie Johnson have announced the birth of a “healthy baby girl,” according to the UK’s Press Association. The baby was born on Thursday morning at a London hospital.

The Johnsons had announced in July that they were expecting a second child in December.

Carrie Johnson wrote at the time that she had suffered a miscarriage at the start of this year. “Hoping for our rainbow baby this Christmas,” she wrote, referring to a child who is born following a miscarriage, stillbirth or neonatal death.

The couple already have a son, Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas Johnson, who was born in April last year.

They were married in a secret wedding at Westminster Cathedral in London in May this year.

Opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer tweeted his congratulations to the Johnsons, adding: “Wishing your family health and happiness.”

A Downing Street spokesman told PA that Johnson would “take some time with his family” but had to “balance that with his responsibilities as Prime Minister in leading the country, which he will continue to do.”

Johnson finally admitted in an interview in September that he had six children, one of them his son with Carrie, having previously dodged the question in numerous interviews and press conferences. That makes the new baby his seventh child.

The Prime Minister made the revelation while speaking to NBC’s Today show on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

Johnson told NBC it was “fantastic” having a baby in 10 Downing Street, but that it was also “a lot of work.”

“But I absolutely love it,” he added. “I change a lot of nappies.”

Four of Johnson’s children are with his ex-wife Marina Wheeler and the fifth, a daughter, was the result of an extra-marital affair.

The announcement of the birth of Johnson’s new baby daughter coincided with the news that his Conservative Party had been fined £17,800 (about $23,500) by the UK’s Electoral Commission over the refurbishment of a flat at Downing Street. The penalty was for failing accurately to report a donation and keep a proper accounting record.

The Commission’s investigation was launched in April following reports in British media that Boris Johnson had spent $280,000 on refurbishing his flat at Downing Street, leading to questions over how he paid for the upgrade. The flat is usually the residence of the Prime Minister when in London.

At the time, then-Trade Secretary Liz Truss said Johnson personally covered the cost of refurbishing the flat.

The Prime Minister is also under pressure over multiple claims that social events were held inside 10 Downing Street in the runup to Christmas 2020, when the country was under coronavirus regulations that outlawed such activities.

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CNN’s Sharon Braithwaite and Luke McGee contributed to this report.