Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds congratulated by MPs on baby announcement and engagement

Some question timing of revelation – just hours after Sir Philip Rutnam resignation

MPs and friends of Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds have congratulated the couple on their pregnancy news – while others have questioned the timing of its announcement.

Ms Symonds posted a photo of the couple on her Instagram page, revealing in the caption that they were expecting their first baby together and had recently got engaged.

Sajid Javid, who quit as chancellor earlier this month after a dispute with Mr Johnson, was among the first to congratulate the prime minister and his fiancee on their “wonderful news”.

Former leader of the Scottish Conservatives Ruth Davidson also offered her congratulations, while pregnant Tory MP Siobhan Baillie welcomed Ms Symonds to “the magical bump gang”.

Tory MP Andrea Jenkyns sent her congratulations “especially to Carrie”, adding that “being a mummy is the best job in the world”, while Nadine Dorries, parliamentary under-secretary of state for health and social care, said she was “thrilled” for the couple.

The Daily Mirror’s political editor Pippa Crear said having a baby “is a very precious thing” and sent her “best wishes” to Ms Symonds, and Dan Wootton, executive editor of The Sun and host of TalkRADIO’s Drivetime show, said it was “some much needed happy news for the country”.

However there was also some political cynicism over the announcement, which came just hours after Sir Philip Rutnam, the top civil servant at the Home Office, resigned from his post after clashes with the home secretary Priti Patel.

Labour MP Florence Eshalomi questioned the timing. In an apparent reference to Sir Philip, she tweeted: “Very convenient for this news to be announced today.”

The HuffPost’s Paul Waugh said the news had been known in Westminster and that the question had always been about when it would be announced.

He tweeted: “The PM wouldn’t be so cynical to try and bury bad news (Patel/Rutnam) with, er, good news? Surely not.”

Benjamin Butterworth, of the i newspaper, described the news as “a distraction that does not affect the country”.

He added in a tweet: “The country is facing a potential pandemic for which the prime minister has been criticised for inaction and a top civil servant has quit accusing the home secretary of bullying. So they announce this.”

Ms Symonds said she felt “incredibly blessed” in her Instagram post, adding: “Many of you already know, but for my friends that still don’t, we got engaged at the end of last year ... and we’ve got a baby hatching early summer.”

Mr Johnson, 55, and Ms Symonds, 31, made history as the first unmarried couple to officially live together in Downing Street when they moved in last year.

Ms Symonds, a conservationist and former Conservative Party communications chief, first made headlines when she was romantically linked to Mr Johnson in February 2018.

Boris Johnson with his second wife Marina Wheeler in 2015 (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

But her association with the former London mayor dates back to when she worked on his successful re-election bid at City Hall in 2012.

An early summer birth would suggest the new arrival was conceived during the autumn, around the time the 31 October Brexit deadline was extended.

The new arrival will be the third baby born to a serving prime minister in recent history.

David Cameron and his wife Samantha welcomed their daughter Florence into the world in 2010 – three months after Mr Cameron formed a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats.

A decade earlier, Tony Blair’s wife Cherie gave birth to son Leo, three years after her husband’s first election victory.

The last babies born to prime ministers before Leo and Florence arrived more than 170 years ago.

Mr Johnson’s union with Ms Symonds will be his third marriage.

Earlier this month, a court heard the prime minister and his estranged second wife Marina Wheeler were preparing to end their marriage after reaching an agreement over money.

Additional reporting by Press Association