Boris Johnson has been claimed to have spies to plan raids on a Dutch factory that manufactures Covid vaccines after the EU “stole” British doses.
Diplomatic sources said the then-prime minister was “furious” after the EU blocked the export of millions of doses of AstraZeneca vaccines in March 2021.
It has been reported that Johnson has even gone so far as to ask the security services to investigate “military options” for doses from the Leiden plant in the Netherlands.
He advised a secret raid in search of vaccines purchased through the UK government.
The idea was scrapped after diplomats warned it could further ruin relations with the EU and jeopardize vaccine material from other European factories.
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Boris Johnson will appear before the Covid inquiry this week and has already provided written evidence to make clear his frustration with Brussels’ actions.
A diplomatic source told the Mail: “The EU had seized five million doses. Of course, the Prime Minister was furious: they were putting the lives of other Britons on the line to make a political argument and divert attention from their own failures.
“He ordered the officials to examine all the reaction characteristics, and this referred to asking the security to check if there were characteristics to physically go through and take the vaccines from the Netherlands and bring them here. “
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A second source said the EU’s moves “go back to Brussels at least a year ago. “
The source added: “The EU could not accept the fact that we had negotiated a better deal with AstraZeneca and so they essentially impounded these vaccines in the Netherlands. They were effectively stolen.”
A spokesman for Mr Johnson declined to comment, saying only that he was “looking forward to assisting the inquiry with its important work”.
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