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FORMER BRITISH PRIME Minister Boris Johnson considered launching an “aquatic raid” on a warehouse in the Netherlands to retrieve Covid vaccine doses amid a row with Europe, according to an extract from his memoir.
Johnson convened a meeting of senior military officials in March 2021 to discuss the plans, which he admitted were “nuts”, according to an extract from his Unleashed book published in the Daily Mail.
At the time, the AstraZeneca vaccine was at the heart of a cross-Channel row over exports, with the EU lagging behind the pace of the rollout in the UK.
The extract says the deputy chief of the defence staff (military strategy and operations), Lieutenant General Doug Chalmers, told the prime minister the plan was “certainly feasible”, using rigid inflatable boats to navigate Dutch canals.
“They would then rendezvous at the target; enter; secure the hostage goods, exfiltrate using an articulated lorry, and make their way to the Channel ports,” Johnson wrote.
But the senior officer said it would not be possible to do this undetected, with lockdowns meaning the authorities might observe the raid, meaning the UK would “have to explain why we are effectively invading a long-standing Nato ally”.
Writing in his book, Johnson said he “had commissioned some work on whether it might be technically feasible to launch an aquatic raid on a warehouse in Leiden, in the Netherlands, and to take that which was legally ours and which the UK desperately needed”.
The former PM admitted: “Of course, I knew he was right, and I secretly agreed with what they all thought but did not want to say aloud: that the whole thing was nuts.”
He described the Halix plant as holding millions of doses of the vaccine which AstraZeneca was “trying, in vain” to export to the UK. He believed the EU was treating the UK “with malice and with spite” due to the European rollout being slower than in the UK.
“They wanted to stop us getting the five million doses, and yet they showed no real sign of wanting to use the AstraZeneca doses themselves,” Johnson wrote.
He said that around that time, “out of the blue, the European Commission launched a kind of legal war against AstraZeneca, claiming that the company was failing to honour its contract with the EU”.
However, he said the EU’s “complaints were nonsense” as a result of Kate Bingham, the chairwoman of the UK’s vaccine taskforce, signing a “bomb-proof” contract with AstraZeneca.
In March 2021, Johnson told a Downing Street press conference: “We’ll continue to work with European partners to deliver the vaccine rollout.
“All I can say is we in this country don’t believe in blockades of any kind of vaccines or vaccine materials.
“It’s not something that this country would dream of engaging in and I’m encouraged in some of the things I’ve heard from the continent in the same sense.”
If it’s unsafe, then at least try and fix it. Are the Government telling us that they are closing down unsafe hospital units on safety grounds or are they telling us they are closing down unsafe hospital units as a means of saving money?
I think they are also saying that the low number of patients that go through Roscommon A&E mean that it will never have the critical mass to be safe to acceptable levels.
The criteria will be changed so as to force them to close down. Stating that they are unsafe is just to make it sound like it is for the benefit of the community. If you set the terms, you get the result that you look for. The HSE was set up by Micheal Martin and built by Mary Harney, neither of whom were noted for caring about patient welfare.
Why don’t we exclude doctors from decision making in the medical sector. They are paid too much to be making decisions. Let’s put Jack O’Connor and David Begg in charge. At least then the money wouldn’t be going to fat cats…oh wait
Why not allow the people who will be affected by the changes to the health system to edcide? Hold a referendum in the constituencies where these changes will be taking place, it’s those people who will be affected byt the results of these debates and decisions.
If it’s unsafe I’d rather go somewhere else bottom line!
Cavan Doc on Call has had staff numbers slashed and hours reduced. Navan and Drogheda have had staff levels reduced.. Rumour is Navan and Drogheda and even Cavan could lose A&E depts soon.
So much for the money following the patient. Seems the patient is destined to die waiting for an Ambulance, in traffic on a long journey or on a trolley waiting for treatment.
Patients will die in transit and because of distance. Look at Monaghan people being forced to travel to Cavan. Cavan can’t cope with the load.
By all means reform the system to save money. Do not withdraw services and cross your fingers as seems to be the case.
All this, and a growing population?
Nuts…
I would rather die in an A&E than on my way to Galway. We are now outside the crucial hour zone, the government have put a death sentence on our heads.
These decisions , and the reasons behind them are too often made behind close doors . We are a literate population and should have the facts placed before us , anything else is patronising and serving only administrators . Priorities such as excessive regulation , over powerful senior doctors and self-perpetuating bureaucracies should be mucked out and only then can sensible decisions be made .
Don’t believe them. All excuses to save money,Cuts plenty more to come started by FF accelerated by FG more to come this govt are lieing 24/7.I have to say i don’t think its good to have the ex head of the IMO heading this Vested interests will always win the the day. wheres the cuts in consultants salary’s..
Consultants in Ireland are the highest paid in Europe. Can you imagine FG ever going after people like that. In their history as a party, when have they ever exhibited a willingness to hold the people at the very top accountable, to treat them the same as the rest of us. FF do it for brown envelopes, while FG do it for free.
Lieing…..LOL.
We need to spend the money on literacy.
There is never a good time to downgrade A&E in any area. In all accidents the the 1 hour is the golden hour, and if you need to send a patiant further then you are putting heir lives at risk.
It will kill more than it saves, but that will not worry the minister. He’ll always be within proximity to a hospital, and same as Harney et al, will have the best Private healthcare and will be a given special status in a hospital.
That aside, the people in Roscommon voted 72% for FG and FF in 2009, and historically have done so, even though both parties were clear on their plans to close the A&E. 56% voted for them in the GE. Given that those parties have set European economic records for economic failures over the last 90 years, and have a history of looking after a select group of people while they fill potholes etc for the rest, then what did people expect???
People have to realize that if you vote for the two parties that have always ignored you, you can’t expect them to turnaround and start giving a shite now.
I agree. I never voted FF or FG and I never will, but I now have to suffer the actions of others. A bittersweet I-told-you-so.
Tony no one is giving special status in an a&e, it doesn’t matter if you have health insurance or not a&e is based on the severity of a patients condition. Why do people think health ministers relish closing down services? I’m sure he would rather not but if the money isn’t there
woman just there on radio from roscommom,will take her 1 hr 25 mins to get to galway if there is no traffic or road works,she and her husband work and pay their taxes.she also made the point that if she had to go to galway,they might tell her to come back the next day and also about parking.there was no taught at all put into this.its all about money
I am from Roscommon and it will take me 1 hour and 40 minutes to get to Galway
Roscommon town to galway, 40 miles. 1 hour?
Balbriggan to Beaumont, 1 hour.
Get over it.
Oil, you are not taking into account the condition of the roads between Galway and Roscommon. It may not be that far, 40 miles as you say, but it definitely does not take “1 hour”. Do not act all high and mighty about something you are not knowledgeable about.
And all because we have to pay the bondholders who not only can afford private health in whatever private clinic they wish, they can probably jet over to any country that offers the specializations they require.
The roads of Connaught are not the best and most Roscommon people can’t afford the helipad, nerver mind the helicopter.
I’m from Roscommon and I voted yes. It’s dangerous that’s evident close it and put the money saved into providing a better service from hospitals in the region. That way people from both Roscommon and the greater area benefit in the long run
What hospitals in the region? Galway? People are an hour and a half, 2 hours away from there. They’ll be dead on arrival.
There’s more than Galway there’s ballinasloe and mullingar. It’s for the greater good and will benefit more people. It’s going to be downgraded let’s focus on how we can fully utilise and benefit from the replacement service and other hospitals in the region
Are you related to Frank Feighan by any chance Aideen ? You are from Roscommon and yet would be quite happy to wait for potentially up to 2 hours for an ambulance if they are all being utilised in other counties and then potentially spend another 1.5 hrs getting to hospital ? And FYI patients will be sent to Galway, Sligo and Mayo, not Ballinasloe and Mullingar
i think its scary that an A&E dept can be down graded without full public disclosure. and also the nearest hospital A&E galway in this case,has not been expanded to deal with the extra patients that will attend A&E due to the closure of Roscommon.More lives lost or put at risk, when will we hear the stats on that!
The HIQA people also said Tallaght was dangerous, will they close that??? Hell no, only the country hospitals get closed!!! It’s a disgrace
Very surprised how close this vote is. Are there a lot of Roscommon readers of the Journal? Otherwise cannot understand the large ‘Yes’ vote. Unsustainable units or even hospitals cannot be maintained – in good times or in bad.
Would be right in guessing you live in Dublin?
Don’t get fooled by the “unsafe” ruse.
Not sure what slight of hand might have been used… could be similar to the bank “stress tests”. If you do a stringent report on any hospital it may well be unsafe. The question is: Is that because of consistent underfunding or because it is impossible to make it safe?
There is not even ONE Centre Of Excellence in the state. They are cutting before providing the alternate services. As everyone of us knows the Health Services are required daily. It is fair for anybody of any county to want these alternate services in place for a year before allowing any cuts to existing ones.
How can we trust the government when they are breaking other promises left, right & centre?
If it is a matter of money slice it from the layers of unnecessary management in the HSE.
We have to believe it.
whihout drogheda hosptail my son would have died he had a heart attack on the way to drogheda he would not have made it to dublin
I wonder why we should accept a decision made by as unhealthy a creature as ever wafted a stethescope , a member of a party that brazenly breaks its promises , who discipline Deputies who stick up for their electors , and don’t have the gumption to tackle the greedy idiots who have consigned us to penury . Go to Hell Dammit !
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