Facts

Boris Johnson was referring to the EU scheme in which member states agreed to move as one to get hold of covid vaccines. It ended up being slower than the UK’s own procurement and authorisation processes.

But according to Channel 4 FactCheck, there are no instances of Mr Starmer saying he wanted the UK to join the EU scheme. FactCheck was unable to find any evidence in Hansard records either.

Verdict

This is an early example of Boris Johnson making false and unsubstantiated claims about the government vaccination programme. We approached Mr Johnson’s office, the Cabinet Office and the No 10 Press Office to give them a chance to comment, but no reply. 

Mr Johnson’s misleading statement remains on the Hansard record in defiance of the Ministerial Code.