Shock For Incoming Leaders.

[Atheist]

Did anyone read or see an item about Johnson, on his first day at the office, having to write and sign four personal letters to our four nuclear sub skippers authorising them what to do in the case of a nuclear attack on the UK? Apparently he took it in his stride. It was mentioned that Blair turned white when he was required to do the same thing.
I wonder what other shocking secrets are plonked in front of new PM's or Presidents on their first day.
The mind boggles.

[Peter Pedant]

stop guying yourself these people do somethnig important

Mac ( Macmillan ) found time to read novels in the back garden of No 10.

Baldwin said - very little is important and almost nothing is very important

[Buenchico]

Those 'personal' letters, Atheist, were no doubt drafted for him by MoD officials. All Boris really had to do was to sign them.

[Atheist]

Buen, of course he didn't compose them, but I got the impression that he had to write them out himself and sign them himself. I think that's clearly what would be required in order to avoid him denying that it was him who had ordered a nuclear attack.

[New Judge]

I think far worse than signing a letter (whether or not the PM penned it himself) was the task which potentially faced the UK’s V-Bomber crews during the Cold War. Apart from being required to be in a constant state of readiness (“Quick Reaction Alert” which, depending on the status of the alert, might entail being strapped into their aircraft for many hours) they knew that if they left the UK with instructions to strike Soviet targets, there would almost certainly be little left of the UK in the unlikely event of their making it back here. Beside that, signing a letter to give the order to strike when told is somewhat small beer.

[ichkeria]

Ask him to sack a minister tho and that’s when he turns white ;-)

Blair dismissed Mandelson several times History mind you does not recall his skin colour at the time …

[jno]

Buenchico, I expect he had to add a sentence along the lines of "If I'm on holiday, see if you can find Dominic Raab somewhere".

[Peter Pedant]

and a post scriptum
qualis dux pereo ! - what a fab leader perishes !
and then ( kai tote)
su legeis ( you have said I am - that would be koine )

[Peter Pedant]

no no surely
si abessem, inveni Raabem ! - -- ( vel roga raabem)

[Stableford]

Think it's probably what's known as "The Letters of Last Resort" you're thinkinf of Atheist? See https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/boris-johnsons-pm-letters-last-resort-nuclear/

It's a bit of a different topic but the letter left in the desk drawer from the Labour Chancellor to George Osborne (while maybe not a shock) was notorious- "There is no money left."

[Atheist]

Stableford; thanks for the link, there's more info there than I had seen.

[Peter Pedant]

// Ask him to sack a minister tho and that’s when he turns white ;-)//

no I think Bliar's first day whitener was hearing that Shree had been overheard commenting about Humph the no 10 cat:
I want it dead

[ichkeria]

“ letter from the Labour Chancellor to George Osborne”

It wasn’t the chancellor it was a minister whose name I think was Liam Byrne.
It was a joke which spectacularly backfired allowing plausible promotion of the lie that Labour had drained the coffers through economic mismanagement

[jno]

a bit like Maudling (a Tory) apologising to his successor, Callaghan (Labour), for leaving the country in a mess.