A year in pictures: Boris Johnson’s tumultuous 2020

UK prime minister has endured a rollercoaster year in his personal and political life

JANUARY: UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to spend the month pumped up by his achievement in giving the people what they voted for - Brexit. Five years since David Cameron announced he was calling a referendum on the UK leaving the EU, Mr Johnson holds the reins of power as the country hands back its membership and is cut adrift from the European project. A mask of Mr Johnson's face is waved in Parliament Square in as the clock ticks towards departure day.

JANUARY: Mr Johnson says he is ready to negotiate a Canada-style free trade agreement with Europe. But the first signs of trouble come in a meeting with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, who tells him it would be “basically impossible” to negotiate a close relationship by the end of this year. Mr Johnson’s Brexit deal, hammered out at the end of 2019 passes through the Commons in an historic vote bringing it a step closer to being enshrined in law. But after years of wrangling the moment is overshadowed by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s announcement they are leaving the country, nicknamed Megxit. Mr Johnson attends a summit in Berlin to discuss the Libya conflict where, posted off to the side of the line-up, he jokes with other European leaders during the official photograph.

JANUARY: This is not the end, but a beginning Mr Johnson declares as he broadcasts to the nation at 11pm, the moment the country leaves the EU. He declares it a moment of hope that many people believed would never come. He acknowledges there would be bumps in the road but the country could turn the opportunity into a stunning success. He says he has obeyed the people by taking back the tools of self-government. Brexiteers gather across the country to celebrate ‘Brexit Hour’, while in Brussels the EU flag was lowered without ceremony at the UK’s representation to Europe, leaving just the Union Flag flying. Getty Images

FEBRUARY: Boris Johnson finalises his divorce deal with his estranged wife Marina Wheeler after a year-long financial dispute. It paves the way for marriage to his partner Carrie Symonds. By the end of the month, the couple announce they are engaged and expecting a baby. It’s thought he proposed while on holiday in Mustique over Christmas. Ms Symonds has not been seen publically for several months leading to speculation she may be pregnant. She posts on Instagram that she has a baby ‘hatching’ in early summer and releases a picture of the couple sharing a kiss.

MARCH: Mr Johnson takes personal control of the government’s response to the coronavirus crisis after being stung by claims his personal life has taken over and he is acting like a ‘part-time’ prime minister. He endures heavy criticism for not visiting areas of England hard hit by flooding. He leads a meeting of the emergency committee Cobra for the first time and sets out a blueprint for how he intends to tackle the outbreak, with a focus on a public health campaign encouraging handwashing. He then warns that lives may have to be put on hold for “up to three months” to fight the disease. He raises the spectre for the first time of people being told to avoid contact with the outside world. Supermarkets are hit by panic-buying as the gravity of the situation hits home, while on public transport people start wearing homemade masks as protection. Mr Johnson washes his hands during a visit to the Mologic Laboratory in the Bedford technology Park. Getty Images

MARCH: Mr Johnson begins a series of sombre press conferences at which he warns many people will die from coronavirus. With the death toll at 10 and cases likely around 10,000, he says the country faces the worst public health crisis for a generation. He urges people to work from home and stay away from pubs, restaurants and other social gatherings. He calls for people to avoid all non-essential contact and stop unnecessary travel, even putting a stop to visiting family in care homes. The first suggestions that the crisis may last 18 months are made. Getty Images

MARCH: Lockdown Britain is declared. He orders families to stay in their homes except in exceptional circumstances, shuts all non-essential shops, suspends weddings and tells people they should not meet other households. It is the biggest shutdown in the country’s history, but businesses and workers are offered some consolation with the introduction of a furlough scheme to pay half the wages of millions of workers. Members of a family listen as Mr Johnson makes a televised address to the nation from inside 10 Downing Street. AFP

MARCH: Mr Johnson takes part in the first 'Clap for Carers,' a weekly round of applause for NHS heroes that brings the nation out on their doorsteps to acknowledge the workers putting their lives at risk on the front line in the battle against coronavirus. He is soon in need of their assistance as he tests positive for Covid. Health Secretary Matt Hancock and Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty also test positive, raising questions over whether the government had been following their own advice carefully enough. AFP

APRIL: Mr Johnson releases a video message in which he talks about the need for mass testing to “unlock the puzzle” of coronavirus. But all eyes are on his appearance as he is clearly struggling. He looks tired and short of breath. After a few days he is taken to hospital for precautionary tests as his condition worsens. Downing St insists he is still in charge, but the following day he is moved to intensive care as he struggles to breathe. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab is placed in temporary charge of the government. Messages of support flood in, including from nurses who hold up signs saying “Get well soon Boris”. AFP

APRIL: Mr Johnson is released from hospital to be reunited with his pregnant fiancée and declares the NHS saved his life. He releases a video clip name-checking a string of doctors and nurses who treated him. He says “things could have gone either way” during his week in hospital. He returns to Downing Street after recuperating at his official country residence Chequers. Colleagues claim he has “got his bounce back”. AFP

APRIL: From near death to nappy duty! In a rattling change of fortunes, Mr Johnson and his partner Carrie reveal the birth of their son. It is Carrie’s first child but thought to be Boris’s fifth child. Surprisingly, the PM has never confirmed exactly how many children he has through a series of relationships. The boy is named Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas Johnson, in a tribute to their grandfathers and the doctors who treated the prime minister in hospital. Ms Symonds posts an image on Instagram of her and Wilfred.

JUNE: After intense pressure to relax social distancing rules amid warnings businesses cannot survive, Mr Johnson urges shoppers to return to the high street and “shop with confidence” to get beleaguered business back on track. He vows all pupils will be back in class by September. ‘I’m sure we can get it done”, he says as he puts together plans for children to be placed into classroom bubbles of 30 pupils with strict rules on moving around schools. Mr Johnson visits M&S clothing department and other retail outlets in Westfield Stratford. Getty Images

JUNE: Mr Johnson meets French President Emmanuel Macron in Downing Street, avoiding customary handshakes. Mr Macron is the first world leader to visit the UK since lockdown, as he marks the 80th anniversary of Charles de Gaulle’s famous rallying call to his countrymen from a London radio station. Getty Images

JULY: Mr Johnson warns that empty offices are killing town centres, and workers should start getting back to their desks. It is part of his mission to get Britain moving again after allowing restaurants and pubs to reopen. He is seen wearing a mask for the first time as he reveals new rules forcing shoppers to cover their faces in stores. He had been initially sceptical about the value of wearing face masks in public but now concedes they could be useful in reducing transmission. Getty Images

JULY: The public get their first real glimpse of Wilfred Johnson as he is cuddled by Carrie on a zoom call to thank University College Hospital staff who helped with the birth. The photos, released by Downing Street, show he has his daddy’s hair. Downing Street

JULY: Mr Johnson heads north to Scotland to praise the strength of the union within the UK. He rejects calls for a second referendum on Scottish independence. Mr Johnson holds crabs caught on the Carvela at Stromness Harbour in Stromness, Scotland. This month marks one year as UK Prime Minister. Getty Images

AUGUST: Mr Johnson lifts dumbbells on a visit to a gym in his Uxbridge constituency as part of the government’s anti-obesity campaign. He has lost more than a stone since falling ill earlier in the year and admits that his weight was a problem in fighting coronavirus. He also visits a school ahead of the new term to show that classrooms will not close if there is the need for a fresh lockdown. However, a fiasco over exam results for A-level and GCSE pupils mars the planning for a return to school. On a personal front, a camping trip to Scotland ends in a row after the farmer who owns the land said the PM didn’t have permission to pitch up there or light a campfire. Getty Images

SEPTEMBER: Brexit returns to the headlines once more, as Mr Johnson accuses the EU of trying to break up the UK as he defends controversial legislation that will overrule parts of his own Brexit deal. A minister admits it would break international law, leading to weeks of wrangling in the House of Commons over whether the new legislation would be pushed through. Mr Johnson eventually gets the measures passed despite a revolt among his own party. AFP

SEPTEMBER: Mr Johnson imposes a ‘rule of six’ restriction that limits the number of people who can meet up together. He warns that the rules are likely to be in place for months, hitting the Christmas period. He also announces plans for a ‘moonshot’ testing programme – 10 million tests a day by the new year – but is widely mocked after failures in earlier government testing efforts. Mr Johnson tours the laboratory at Oxford's Jenner Institute and meets scientists who are leading the COVID-19 vaccine research. Getty Images

SEPTEMBER: Boris slams the UK into reverse, announcing a new crackdown in a bid to stamp out a second Covid wave. He drops his back to work drive, toughens rules for pubs and restaurants and demands masks are worn more often. He raises the spectre of a total lockdown if new restrictions are not followed, but gets muddled over his own rules, failing to correctly explain them during a visit to the north east. The image of the befuddled PM is added to the gallery of PR stunts gone wrong which have dogged the colourful politician over the years. Getty Images

OCTOBER: The UK sees a string of local lockdowns as Mr Johnson tries to regain control of the second wave without forcing the entire country back into hibernation. But the PM faces accusations he does not have a plan to deal with the crisis as he weighs up the dual concerns of fighting the virus while reviving the economy. A news display features Mr Johnson as shoppers make their way along the streets of Manchester, one of the cities resisting being moved into the highest risk category.

OCTOBER: Sorting a post-Brexit trade deal with the EU moves back to the top of the agenda. But Mr Johnson declares the EU has not been serious about negotiations and is unwilling to give the Uk the same conditions as Canada, despite its 45-year partnership.

NOVEMBER: Mr Johnson attends the House of Commons remotely by video-link to update MPs on the Covid-19 pandemic, in a hybrid, socially distanced session at the House of Commons in London. AFP

NOVEMBER: Boris Johnson (left), wears a hair net and face covering to see the last minute quality testing of the 'fill and finish' stage of the manufacturing process of Covid-19 vaccines, in Wrexham, north Wales. AFP

DECEMBER: Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson returns to his official residence at 10 Downing Street after attending Prime Minister's Questions. EPA

DECEMBER: He tries his hand at cable splicing with instructor Colin Wilkinson (right) during a visit to the Openreach Learning and Development Training Centre in Bolton, northwest England. AFP

DECEMBER: Britain's Prime Minister, Boris Johnson attends a virtual press conference inside 10 Downing Street after a string of countries banned travellers and all but unaccompanied freight arriving from the UK, due to the rapid spread of a new, more-infectious coronavirus strain. Getty Images

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has endured and enjoyed a year that was impossible to predict.

In January, top on his agenda was Brexit while he was still enjoying his general election triumph of the previous month, won partly on the back of

campaigning for Brexit.

The decision of a UK royal to retire from the spotlight of family duty would be the defining moment of most years – in 2020, it was just another ripple. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex moved to the US via a stop in Canada and the British Establishment coped and moved on.

That was before coronavirus spread, battered the economy, killed tens of thousands of people and quickly became the most grave public health catastrophe since the Second World War.

Mr Johnson enforced a national lockdown in March and his government is still battling successive waves of Covid-19, most recently a more infectious mutation of the disease that first appeared in London before threatening to spread abroad.

The prime minister himself was admitted to hospital having contracted the virus and needed intensive care treatment.

On a cheerier note, Mr Johnson and his fiancee Carrie Symonds in April announced the birth of their baby boy named Wilfred.

Now, with the end of the year approaching, Mr Johnson appears to have guided Britain into post-EU life successfully.

How Britain handles that and the continuing Covid-19 pandemic will be his legacy.

The job he always dreamed of has proved more demanding than he could ever have imagined.