Far from being more adaptable out of the EU, we have lagged badly

BACK in January I wrote that “Brexit is Joe Orton meets the Marquis de Sade at the end of Weston Pier, with a few Union Jacks fluttering in the stink and a mother-in-law tied in bunting to a ducking-stool. A great spectacle for a short while, but painful if directly involved. The charlatan cheerleaders will be found out. The Brexiters own this Brexit now. They are responsible for what follows and cannot hide from it”.

Well, not turned out too well, has it? And in case anyone thinks that the coronavirus crisis and Brexit are not linked, they should reflect that the UK missed three chances to bulk-buy protective PPE kit for our hard-pressed NHS with other EU countries.

The EU had a scheme to bulkbuy masks, gowns and gloves and this is starting to deliver this vital kit to doctors and nurses. But not to ours, since our Brexit Government didn’t want to be part of this.

The EU was very swift and nimble on this. The UK flopped and flagged. Far from being quicker and more adaptable if we were out of EU collective schemes, we have lagged – and lagged very badly.

EU countries are even in the incredible position of being able to set up strategic stockpiles of masks, overalls and goggles.

Here, nearly half of clinicians carrying out the highest-risk procedures have access to the correct full-sleeve gowns.

This has been a deadly consequence of Brexit.

As for Brexit leading to closer trade ties with the “dynamic” and “booming” economies of China and India, leaving aside the point that the virus originated in China but is causing havoc here, a consignment of 100,000 gowns from China had to be rejected because they were sub-standard. So much for that promise, eh?

Failure to provide proper basic protective gear for our NHS heroes lies with the Brexit Government of Johnson and Gove.

They messed this up very, very badly. This is an immediate downside of Brexit, made worse by the Brexit Government turning down the EU’s very generous offer to participate.

This is a national scandal.