• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • FAQ
  • Meet the Team
  • About The London Economic
  • Advertise
TLE ONLINE SHOP!
NEWSLETTER
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Film
  • Food
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Film
  • Food
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home Politics

Michael Gove admits ‘communication confusion’ over EU ventilator scheme mix-up

Gove also issued an apology to a company which said it did not receive a reply from the Government having offered to procure ventilators for the NHS.

Jack Peat by Jack Peat
March 29, 2020
in Politics
Credit;PA

Credit;PA

Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove has said there was “communication confusion” after the Government missed the deadline to join an EU scheme to get extra ventilators.

It comes after the official spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson earlier this week said the UK had decided against joining the EU’s procurement scheme, as the UK is no longer a member of the EU.

However, a No 10 spokesman said that officials did not get emails inviting the UK to join, and it could opt in to future schemes.

Brexit ideology over demand for essential equipment

It sparked calls from opposition MPs, including Liberal Democrat Layla Moran, that the Government is putting Brexit ideology over demand for essential equipment.

Speaking on The Andrew Marr Show on the BBC, Mr Gove said: “There was some confusion over our involvement in that scheme.

“But I’ve talked to senior figures in the NHS and they’ve reassured me that there is nothing that we can’t do as an independent nation that being part of that scheme would have allowed us to do.”

Asked whether an email was received by the Government, he said: “There was some communication confusion, I don’t know all the details of that, but I do know having talked to senior figures in the NHS that there’s nothing that participating in that scheme would have allowed us to do that we have not been able to do ourselves.”

RelatedPosts

David Lammy reveals why Labour Party are like Tottenham Hotspur

Brexit: Foster accused of ‘legitimising’ loyalist paramilitaries with Protocol meeting

Covid crisis has made UK look “dysfunctional” – Brown

Leave campaign made Brexit a “new religion” to win votes – University report finds

Apology

Mr Gove also issued an apology to a company which said it did not receive a reply from the Government, having offered to procure ventilators for the NHS.

An NHS supplier in Nantwich said that in the international market it had found 25,000 ventilators which it could have procured for the Government.

However, the supplier said that having asked the Government if it wanted the ventilators, it did not receive a reply.

Mr Gove said: “I’m very sorry if that company says that it didn’t get a reply, I’ll investigate as soon as I’ve stopped talking to you (Andrew Marr).

“It is the case that for companies that have got in touch with the Government, those offers of help have been forwarded to the relevant people in the NHS and in other aspects of Government, in order to make sure we secure those supplies.

“If that company wants to get in touch directly with me, we’ll investigate, because there have been some cases where people had hoped they might be able to help, but in fact the material that they produce has not met the NHS specifications, it’s not what’s required in order to save lives, but we have been following up every single lead presented to us.”

Related: Deaths in UK over 1,000 after 260 more people die

Since you are here

Since you are here, we wanted to ask for your help.

Journalism in Britain is under threat. The government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and our media is run by a handful of billionaires, most of whom reside overseas and all of them have strong political allegiances and financial motivations.

Our mission is to hold the powerful to account. It is vital that free media is allowed to exist to expose hypocrisy, corruption, wrongdoing and abuse of power. But we can't do it without you.

If you can afford to contribute a small donation to the site it will help us to continue our work in the best interests of the public. We only ask you to donate what you can afford, with an option to cancel your subscription at any point.

To donate or subscribe to The London Economic, click here.

The TLE shop is also now open, with all profits going to supporting our work.

The shop can be found here.

You can also SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER .

Support fearless, free, investigative journalism Support fearless, free, investigative journalism Support fearless, free, investigative journalism
Please login to join discussion

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

Trending fromTLE

  • All
  • trending

What If We Got Rid Of Prisons?

Stress, fear and homelessness: The threat looming over families confronted with eviction

File photo dated 07/11/03 of a prison cell.

The Other Prison Pandemic

Latest from TLE

Image by AdobeStock

Weather forecast, alerts and UVB index for London, Sunday 28 February 2021

Lucky Numbers and Horoscopes for today, 28 February 2021

Boris Johnson reckons we will return to office life and working from home won’t last

Credit;PA

‘Donald J Trump ain’t going anywhere’ – Trump remains the dominant force at US conservative conference

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

Address

The London Economic Newspaper Limited t/a TLE
Company number 09221879
International House,
24 Holborn Viaduct,
London EC1A 2BN,
United Kingdom

Contact

Editorial enquiries, please contact: jack@thelondoneconomic.com

Commercial enquiries, please contact: advertise@thelondoneconomic.com

SUPPORT

We do not charge or put articles behind a paywall. If you can, please show your appreciation for our free content by donating whatever you think is fair to help keep TLE growing and support real, independent, investigative journalism.

DONATE & SUPPORT

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.




No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Film
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech & Auto
  • About The London Economic
  • Meet the Team
  • Privacy policy

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.