UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson's partner Carrie Symonds gave birth to a baby boy in the early hours of this morning at a London Hospital.
A spokesperson for the Prime Minister said that both mother and baby are well.
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The spokesperson said: "The prime minister and Ms Symonds are thrilled to announce the birth of a healthy baby boy at a London hospital earlier this morning. Both mother and baby are doing very well.
"The PM and Ms Symonds would like to thank the fantastic NHS maternity team."
The Leader of the Opposition, Labour's Keir Starmer, was quick to offer his congratulations, tweeting: "Wonderful news. Many congratulations to Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds."
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak also tweeted: "Great to hear Downing Street is getting a new resident.
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"Congratulations to @BorisJohnson and @carriesymonds on the birth of their son."
Speculation had been rife as to whether the Prime Minister would take to the despatch box for his first Prime Minister's Questions against the new Labour Party leader this morning, but it had been thought that the PM's deputy during his recent illness, Dominic Raab, would take Johnson's place.
Johnson returned to work on Monday following an absence of more than three weeks whilst he recovered from symptoms of coronavirus.
He spent several days in intensive care as a result of the illness, but returned at the beginning of this week and issued a statement in which he said that there were signs that the country was "turning the tide" on the virus that has laid the world low.
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The child, which is 32-year-old Symonds' first child and thought to be Johnson's sixth, was expected in 'early summer' but has clearly arrived ahead of schedule.
Johnson has previously stated that he intended to take his two weeks of paternity leave following the birth of the child, but it isn't immediately clear whether he will do so, given the severity of the ongoing global pandemic.
Former Prime Ministers David Cameron and Tony Blair also took paternity leave after having a child whilst in office.
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That would likely leave Dominic Raab in charge of the government once again.
When the announcement of Symonds' pregnancy was made several months ago, the pair also announced their intention to get married, although no date has been set for that yet, and it will likely have to wait until lockdown restrictions are eased and the fight against the virus is over.
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