Inside Politics: Nicola Sturgeon accused of ‘showboating’ for EU over vaccines

Following all this GameStop stuff? Pretty wild. A bunch of US gamers are wreaking havoc on Wall Street – threatening to turn stock-market capitalism upside down. The White House is struggling to stay out of a major row over their activities. Meanwhile, No 10 is struggling to stay out of a major row over vaccines in Europe. Delays to jab delivery in the EU is wreaking havoc in capitals across the continent – threatening to turn supply chains upside down.

Inside the bubble

Our deputy political editor Rob Merrick on what to look out for today:

Boris Johnson will be back working in No 10, after his one-day dash to Scotland. But the main action will be in Amsterdam, home of the European Medicines Agency, where the regulator is expected to give its approval for the AstraZeneca jab. It comes as the “vaccine war” turns increasingly bitter, with the EU insisting on its right to a fair share of those jabs.

Daily briefing

TRANS-EUROPE BIG MESS: The EU Commission plans to give national regulators across the bloc the power to block exports, which could lead to millions of doses being prevented from entering the UK. The new export ban could be put in place “within days”, according to The Guardian – and would threaten Britain’s supply of the Pfizer jabs being produced in Belgium. No 10 is keeping quiet. Big Pharma is not happy. The European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries warned it could lead to a breakdown of global supply. “Not in anyone’s best interest,” the group said. No kidding. AstraZeneca – the firm at the centre of storm – is now prepared to publish the contract it has with the EU, according to German media reports. Meanwhile, Boris Johnson and Michael Gove insisted there will be “no interruption” to UK supplies. But could Covid vaccines produced in the UK be diverted to the EU at some point? The PM’s official spokesman repeatedly refused to rule out diverting doses to the continent once the most vulnerable Britons have been inoculated.

ON A SHOW BOAT TO BRUSSELS? Nicola Sturgeon has been accused of trying to “curry favour” with the EU in its vaccine battle. The first minister has said she will publish confidential vaccine supply data – revealing how many vaccine doses Scotland expects each week – to counter claims her administration has been too slow at getting the jab rolled out. Sturgeon accused the UK government of double standards by briefing vaccine figures “through spin to the media”. Some Tories think she’s playing a dangerous game. Sir Iain Duncan Smith accused Sturgeon of “showboating to try and curry favour” with the EU by picking a fight with London. The ERG backbencher David Jones claimed it was clear she was “trying to ingratiate herself” . In better news, the new Novavax vaccine has been shown to be 89.3 per cent effective in British trials. The UK has ordered 60 million doses. Downing Street and Public Health England both defended the efficacy of the AstraZeneca jab, after Germany’s vaccine committee said it shouldn’t be given to the over-65s.

SEEING RED: The leaders of Britain’s five largest business groups met with Michael Gove last night to discuss Brexit red tape. They weren’t impressed by what they heard. They sent a letter to Gove immediately afterwards, pleading with the government to accept the “substantial difficulties” firms are facing – with the prospect of a “significant loss of business” unless action is taken to ease bureaucracy. Could the UK go back to the EU to tinker with the trade deal? Some pro-European Tories think it’s possible. David Lidington, chair of the new Conservative European Forum (CEF), told The Independent it was possible to make “additions” to the agreement. Tory MP Stephen Hammond, the group’s deputy chair, said it was “time to build upon the deal”, adding: “There is work to be done for the financial services sector, in simplifying trade protocols.” If you’re interested in Samantha Cameron’s views on Brexit – and I’m sure you are – the fashion mogul said “teething problems” meant it was currently “challenging and difficult” for her to sell clothing products to the EU.

HE WOULD WALK 500 MILES: Surprise, surprise. Boris Johnson’s big trip to Scotland during lockdown proved a PR gift to the SNP. Police Scotland confirmed they had received a series of complaints about his trip during lockdown. As one Glaswegian told STV: “We’re no allowed to go 5 miles and he’s travelling 500! Ridiculous!” The PM managed to make matters worse by saying Scotland’s independence debate is “irrelevant” to most Scots during the pandemic. Johnson feigned ignorance of all this separation malarky. “We don’t know what the point of it would be … Nobody will tell us what it’s all meant to be about.” The SNP attacked the PM’s “futile Union Jackery trip” and trolled Johnson on Twitter by sharing a photo of him touching down with the message: “Stay at home. Protect the NHS. Save lives.” The ever-helpful Jacob Rees-Mogg chucked in his tuppenceworth by calling Nicola Sturgeon “Moan-a-lot”.

SWAYNE’S BRAIN: Conservative MP Sir Desmond Swayne has refused to apologise, despite fellow Tories attacking his wild Covid comments. Sir Desmond told a group of anti-lockdown group that statistics on the virus “appear to have been manipulated”. Priti Patel called the remarks “thoroughly wrong”, while Michael Gove said he was “completely out of order”. Will he be sanctioned? Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner said the comments were “really dangerous” and called for the whip to be removed immediately. The Conservative chief whip Mark Spencer has reportedly spoken to Sir Desmond and politely asked him to attend a meeting with scientific advisers so he can be taught a few things. But will the wayward MP listen? It comes as the government was forced to pull a Covid advert urging the nation to “stay home and save lives” which featured illustrations of women doing the household chores and childcare. Misjudged would be putting it politely.

BLAIR PITCH PROJECT: Former Labour prime minister Tony Blair thinks we need to stop what we’re doing and take a “completely new approach” to the Covid crisis. Writing in The Independent, he called for the world to “come together” to create global capacity to develop and distribute vaccine. Blair has pitched a new system of cooperation needed to end the “mad scramble” and ensure that all countries get “fair and equitable” access to protection. In other news, the government is all set to launch its new visa for Hong Kong citizens. British National (Overseas) passport holders and their immediate dependants in the territory will be able to apply for the visa using a smartphone app from Sunday – and around 300,000 people are expected to take advantage. Boris Johnson said it reflected the “profound ties of history and friendship” with the former colony.

On the record

“Do the things that you enjoy, do the things that you feel you’re good at. And be as supportive as you can to Boris.”

Samantha Cameron’s advice for the PM’s fiancee Carrie Symonds.

From the Twitterati

“I believe in the power of doing things together!’ says Boris Johnson, who’s just led us out of the EU.”

Piers Morgan accuses the PM of hypocrisy over his unionist rhetoric…

“The SNP is complaining today that Boris Johnson is visiting Scotland. The SNP would be complaining if he didn’t visit Scotland. The SNP complains. It is the one thing it excels at.”

…while Tim Montgomerie thinks it’s the SNP who are guilty of hypocrisy.

Essential reading

Tony Blair, The Independent: We need a completely new approach to the Covid-19 crisis

Angela Rayner, The Independent: We need to prioritise vaccines for teachers to end schools disruption

Paul Mason, New Statesman: Why the English left should not resist Scottish independence

Harold Holzer, CNN: Biden and the US media – how long will the honeymoon last?

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