Boris Johnson urged the security services to draw up plans to raid a Dutch Covid vaccine factory after the EU “stole” millions of doses destined for the UK during the pandemic.
Diplomatic sources said the former prime minister was “furious” after the EU effectively blocked the export of five million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine at the height of the vaccine rollout in March 2021.
At one point, Mr Johnson called on the security services to consider “military options” for retrieving the doses from the Leiden plant in the Netherlands.
The idea was abandoned only after diplomats warned it would destroy relations and jeopardize supplies of vaccines from factories elsewhere in the EU.
Mr Johnson will allude to the extraordinary episode when he appears before the Covid inquiry this week. His written statements are expected to underline his frustration with the approach of the EU, which was struggling to roll out its own vaccine at the time.
It has been claimed that Boris Johnson has asked the security services to draw up plans to raid a Dutch Covid vaccine factory after the EU “stole” millions of doses destined for the UK
Two diplomatic sources told the Mail that behind the scenes, Mr Johnson was so angry about interference from Brussels that he was considering ordering a covert raid to seize the vaccines paid for by the British government.
A source said: “The EU had essentially confiscated five million doses of our vaccine.” Of course the Prime Minister was furious – they were putting British lives at risk to make a political point and distract from their own mistakes.
“He ordered officials to consider all options for a response, and this included asking the security services to consider whether there were options to physically collect the vaccines from the Netherlands and bring them here.”
A second source said the EU’s “Trumpian” measures had “damaged relations with Brussels for at least a year.”
The source added: “The EU could not accept the fact that we had negotiated a better deal with AstraZeneca and so these vaccines were practically confiscated in the Netherlands.” They were practically stolen; it was Trumpian.
“Boris was predictably angry and wanted to explore all options to respond. It went far beyond trade retaliation; It was diplomacy, security, everything.
“He felt like he was fighting for the lives of the British people, and at one point he asked if there were military options to just go and get these vaccines.”
“That would of course have had a significant impact, not least with regard to other vaccine deliveries that were produced in the EU.” I don’t know how far the idea has progressed.
AstraZeneca doses (yellow) were produced both domestically and in the Netherlands, where the EU “seized five million doses” of the doses destined for the UK; British officials were able to replace most Dutch vaccines with supplies from India’s Pune plant
This chart shows a snapshot from March 28, 2021, showing how the UK has been one step ahead of the EU in vaccinating its population against Covid-19, supporting Mr Johnson’s expected argument that the UK government is “doing the big ones” during the pandemic made the right decisions.”
The former prime minister’s written statements are expected to underline his frustration with the actions of the EU, which was struggling to roll out its own vaccine at the time (file photo)
“But at that point the EU’s measures were so aggressive that the idea didn’t seem so far-fetched.”
A spokesman for Mr Johnson declined to comment on the claims, saying only that he looked forward to supporting the inquiry in its important work next week.
However, a senior ally of the former prime minister admitted he was “furious” at the actions of a supposed ally.
“Boris has always been prepared to use any means necessary to ensure the UK received the vaccines it needed and rightly received,” the friend said.
“He had no interest in playing the EU’s political games and the petty politics shown by some on this matter was absolutely infuriating.”
Mr Johnson called on the security services to consider “military options” for retrieving doses from the AstraZeneca vaccine factory in Leiden in the Netherlands, run by Dutch firm Halix (pictured).
The diplomatic crisis was sparked when the European Commission threatened in March 2021 to block the export of five million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to the UK from a “refining plant” run by the Dutch company Halix.
At the time, Brussels was at loggerheads with the Anglo-Swedish biotech giant, which had warned that production problems would mean the company could only deliver a quarter of planned supplies to the EU. AstraZeneca refused to redirect supplies from British plants and Brussels responded by threatening to ban exports from its own territory.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the measure was about “ensuring that Europe gets its fair share.”
Mr Johnson was only deterred from retaliating after officials warned it could jeopardize supplies of an even larger batch of Pfizer vaccines being manufactured elsewhere in the EU. British officials were able to replace most Dutch vaccines with supplies from India, allowing the UK rollout to continue.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the measure was about “ensuring that Europe gets its fair share.”
In his testimony this week, Mr Johnson is also expected to reference another incident in which the Commission threatened to introduce border controls on the island of Ireland to prevent EU-made vaccines from being sent to Northern Ireland.
The EU’s actions led to what sources describe as a “collapse” in relations. Mr Johnson is said to have had an “angry” phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, who was suspected of promoting the EU’s tough stance, and an “even worse” one with Ms Von der Leyen.
In his statement, Mr Johnson will cite Britain’s vaccination program as evidence that the UK government “got the big decisions right” during the pandemic.
Britain was the first country in the world to approve a Covid vaccine and had one of the fastest rollouts. The former prime minister is expected to apologize for the government’s failures during the pandemic, but also emphasize that the UK has done well in many areas, such as opening up society quickly after the final lockdown.
Among other things, he will acknowledge the enormous pain caused by the shocking death toll, but points out that the UK was “in the middle” when it came to excess mortality rates.