Media playback is unsupported in your machine Media caption'Political choice' not to participate in EU procure
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Labour is looking for readability after a senior civil servant mentioned the UK took a “political choice” to not be a part of an EU scheme to supply medical tools.
The Overseas Workplace’s Sir Simon McDonald advised MPs that ministers have been briefed on “what was on provide” however mentioned “no”.
However Well being Secretary Matt Hancock mentioned the UK had really joined an EU scheme to supply PPE however it had “but to ship a single merchandise”.
Whitehall sources steered to the BBC that Sir Simon “misspoke”.
The supply mentioned {that a} clarification can be issued, following the civil servant’s look on the Overseas Affairs Committee.
‘Signed up’
Labour’s Shadow Well being Secretary Jonathan Ashworth mentioned ministers wanted to elucidate what had occurred.
“We have been advised the federal government missed an electronic mail invitation to hitch the EU procurement scheme. Then we have been advised the choice not to participate was a political choice.
“Now we’re advised that the federal government did signal as much as the scheme,” he mentioned.
Final month the federal government was criticised for not collaborating in an EU procurement scheme to bulk purchase medical tools, together with doubtlessly life-saving ventilators, that might be used to sort out the coronavirus.
On the time, Downing Avenue mentioned the UK was making its personal preparations as a result of it was now not within the EU.
Ministers denied claims that anti-EU sentiment had performed an element within the choice.
Downing Avenue then issued a press release saying the UK had been invited to participate however officers didn’t see the e-mail due to a “communication confusion”.
Requested why the choice was taken to not be a part of the scheme, Sir Simon – who’s everlasting secretary on the Overseas Workplace – advised the Overseas Affairs Committee that it was a deliberate transfer by ministers.
“We left the European Union on 31 January,” he mentioned.
Pushed additional, he added: “All I can say is that it’s a matter of indisputable fact that now we have not taken half. It was a political choice… and the choice isn’t any.”
‘Zero impression’
Requested in regards to the declare on the authorities’s every day coronavirus briefing, Mr Hancock mentioned he had spoken to the Overseas Secretary Dominic Raab, and so far as he knew there had been no political choice to not take part.
He later revealed that he had now accepted an invite from the EU to hitch that exact scheme on an “affiliate” foundation however mentioned it had not but delivered a single merchandise of medical tools.
“After we did obtain an invite within the Division of Well being… it was put as much as me… and we joined and we at the moment are members of that scheme, however so far as we all know that scheme hasn’t but delivered a single merchandise of PPE.”
The choice to not be a part of earlier had had “completely zero” impression on the UK’s present provides, he steered.
The BBC’s political editor Laura Kuenssberg mentioned the row mirrored the extraordinary strain on the federal government over its report on key tools and whether or not its rhetoric about doing all it might was backed by the fact.
The EU Fee has mentioned it’ll take time for the joint scheme to ship any ventilators.