Boris Johnson Considered Raiding Dutch Warehouse for COVID Vaccines
Boris Johnson revealed he contemplated a raid on a Dutch warehouse for COVID-19 vaccines during the pandemic, calling the idea “nuts.”
Boris Johnson, COVID-19, Netherlands, AstraZeneca, Prince Harry, UK
London: So, Boris Johnson recently shared that he thought about sending a team to raid a warehouse in the Netherlands for COVID-19 vaccines. Can you believe that? He called the idea “nuts” in his upcoming memoir.
In March 2021, he met with military officials to discuss this wild plan. It’s kind of crazy to think about, right? He even mentioned trying to convince Prince Harry not to move to the U.S. back in January 2020.
Apparently, Downing Street and Buckingham Palace wanted him to have a chat with Harry after he and Meghan announced they were stepping back from royal duties. Johnson described it as a “manly pep talk” that was “totally hopeless.”
Back to the vaccines, he wrote about how AstraZeneca was struggling to get their doses to the UK from Holland. There was a lot of tension over vaccine exports at that time.
He mentioned he had even looked into whether it was possible to launch a raid on a warehouse in Leiden to grab the doses that the UK really needed. He felt the EU was being pretty spiteful towards the UK.
Military chiefs told him the plan could work, using inflatable boats to navigate the canals. But they also pointed out that it would look pretty bad to invade a NATO ally.
Johnson felt frustrated because the EU was blocking the UK from getting those five million doses, even though they didn’t seem eager to use the AstraZeneca shots themselves.