250M VACCINE DOSES AS BRITAIN LEAVES EU BEHIND

EU CHIEFS have yet to strike a single deal for future Covid-19 vaccines while the UK has secured access to 250 million doses.

Britain’s success defies critics who blasted the Government for not joining a EU procurement scheme.

A Whitehall source said they were “spectacularly wrong” after the UK won access to four different types of potential vaccines.

It is understood officials warned that joining the scheme could delay the roll out of a successful vaccine in the UK by up to six months.

The decision was controversial, with Labour MP Bell Ribeiro-addy accusing the Government of “yet again putting ideology before saving lives”.

Liberal Democrat leadership candidate Layla Moran accused ministers of valuing “Brexit over vaccines”.

But the Whitehall source said they turned out to be “spectacularly wrong” and claimed the EU remains mired in wrangles over price, payment method and potential liability costs.

John Longworth, former director-general of the British Chambers of Commerce who now chairs the Foundation for Independence, said Britain’s record on vaccines shows why the country is better off out of the EU.

He said: “The fact the UK has successfully secured early access to four different types of vaccine and a total of 250 million doses, while the EU languishes behind without having signed a single deal, is a tangible example of how Britain is better off outside of the European Union.

“It illustrates how Project Fear both during and after the referendum was just that – baseless spin designed to intimidate the British public into remaining within a broken, decaying system.

“By being outside of the EU the UK is better placed to cut her own deals tailored exactly to her own needs, rather than a ham-fisted, one-size-fits-all approach we endured in the EU.”

The Whitehall source said that if the UK had joined the EU vaccine scheme, the European Commission would have an exclusive right to negotiate with vaccine manufacturers on the UK’S behalf.

Because Britain is no longer a member state, it would have no say in decisions on which companies to negotiate with, how many doses to buy, at what price, and on what delivery schedule.

However, Ms Ribeiro-addy defended her attack on the Government.

She said: “We are hurtling towards the worst economic recession in history. Who has secured a deal today – when we’re months away from being able to confirm the viability of any vaccination – is far less important than who ends up with the most effective vaccine, and the best deal.

“The benefits of a shared EU procurement scheme are glaringly obvious. So are this government’s ideological reasons for shunning it.

“And let’s face it, the Government hasn’t