Covid: Starmer urges action from Johnson for the UK to vaccinate the world

Covid-19 will continue to “boomerang” and cause disruption in the UK if a plan to vaccinate the world is not delivered, according to Sir Keir Starmer.

The Labour leader also accused Boris Johnson of acting as a “tour guide” rather than a statesman at the recent G7 summit in Cornwall, adding the Prime Minister has a “narrow” ambition for Britain.

Mr Johnson hit back at Sir Keir’s “defeatism” and insisted the UK and its allies are helping to deliver jabs to other nations.

Speaking in the Commons, Sir Keir told MPs: “The priority for the summit had to be a clear plan to vaccinate the world.

Labour Leader Keir Starmer speaks during Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons.
House of Commons

“This is not just a moral imperative, it’s in our self-interest as the Delta variant makes clear.

“Without global vaccine coverage, this virus continues to boomerang, bringing more variants and more disruption to these shores.

“The World Health Organisation has said that 11 billion doses are needed. This summit promised less than one tenth of that. No new funding, no plan to build a global vaccine capacity and no progress on patent waivers.

“The headlines of a billion doses may be what the Prime Minister wanted, but it’s not what the world needed.”

Mr Johnson described the G7 action on vaccines as “fantastic” before adding: “The world agreed another billion vaccines when people are racing to vaccinate their own populations … 100 million more from this country and he’s always constantly running this country’s efforts down.”

Earlier, Sir Keir said the summit should have been an opportunity to “resolve not inflame tensions” over the Northern Ireland Protocol before telling MPs: “Despite all this, I’ve no doubt the Prime Minister will be pleased with the G7 because it delivered everything that he wanted – some good headlines, some nice photos and even a row with the French over sausages.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson makes a statement on the G7 summit in the House of Commons.
House of Commons

“But that just shows how narrow the Prime Minister’s ambition for Britain really is. It’s why this was never going to be a Gleneagles-style success and why the Prime Minister played the role of host, but not leader, of tour guide but not statesman.

“On those terms, the G7 was a success – on any other, it was a failure.”

Mr Johnson replied: “In a long career of miserablism and defeatism, I think he’s really excelled himself there. It was a very powerful statement after a long and difficult period in which the world came together and decided to build back better for the world.”

Conservative former cabinet minister Andrew Mitchell called on the Prime Minister to “think again” on the Government’s £4 billion aid cut.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a press conference on the final day of the G7 summit in Cornwall.
Ben Stansall

He said: “(His) significant success at the G7 last weekend has sadly been dented by the fact that Britain is the only G7 country cutting vital aid and doing so in the middle of a global pandemic, that decision is not only doing grave damage to the reputation of global Britain, it will also lead to more than 100,000 avoidable deaths, principally amongst women and children.

“Will he reflect on the fact that many of us in all parts of the parliamentary party are urging him to restore these terrible humanitarian cuts and that we are not, as he suggested in Prime Minister’s Questions last week, ‘lefty’ propagandists, but his political friends, allies and supporters who want him to think again?”

Mr Johnson replied: “The changes that we’ve made to ODA (Official Development Assistance) weren’t – have not been raised with me by anybody at the G7 and nor by any recipient country.

“I’ve talked to many of them and that is because they know that the UK remains one of the biggest donors in the world, second in the G7 and in spite of all the difficulties we’ve been going through is contributing £10 billion to supporting countries – this year – around the world and we’ve just increased our spending on female education.”

Mr Johnson also confirmed that vaccines donated internationally in 2022 will be in addition to the existing budget for aid.