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Sir, – UK education secretary Gavin Williamson asserts that Britain was able to approve a coronavirus vaccine quicker than France, Belgium or the US, “because we’re a much better country than every single one of them” (“Warning that significant gaps remain in talks between Brexit negotiators”, News, December 3rd).
Mr Williamson’s extravagant claim followed on from UK health secretary Matt Hancock insisting that Britain got in first with regulatory vaccine approval, “because of Brexit”.
Not to be outdone, British business secretary Alok Sharma had already tweeted: “In years to come, we will remember this moment as the day the UK led humanity’s charge against this disease”.
Surely, these senior politicians must each know that they are all talking complete nonsense.
However, what these senior Tory cabinet ministers also all realise is that crude declarations of patriotic chauvinism will never hinder an ambitious politician’s career rise while Boris Johnson is prime minister. Yours, etc,
JOE McCARTHY,
Arbour Hill,
Dublin 7.