Video
Michael Gove says UK doesn’t need EU ventilator scheme as ‘an independent nation’
Michael Gove appears on the BBC's Andrew Marr show. Photograph: BBC. - Credit: Archant
Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove has said that he is assured the UK as an 'independent nation' does not need the EU scheme to get extra ventilators.
Speaking on The Andrew Marr Show on the BBC, Gove was asked whether an email was received by the government.
He claimed there had been some 'confusion' over the email, despite health secretary Matt Hancock previously insisting he was aware of the invitation, and was 'engaging'.
'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.'
You may also want to watch:
Opposition MPs, including Lib Dem MP Layla Moran, had accused ministers of putting 'Brexit before breathing' by not joining the scheme, but previously welcomed a softening of words hours later.
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.
Most Read
- 1 Who's on the BBC's Question Time tonight?
- 2 More approve of EU leadership than Boris Johnson's premiership, poll finds
- 3 Tory MP blames 'chaotic parents' for children going to school hungry
- 4 Liz Truss to deliver speech rejecting 'Britain First' strategy ahead of US election
- 5 MANDRAKE: Chilling news for Telegraph bosses
- 6 Minister self-isolates just a day after being spotted flouting mask rules
- 7 Tory minister's claim over free school meals funding gets quickly debunked
- 8 Tory MP says policies no longer match 'principles on which millions have backed us'
- 9 Brexit shambles: A stress of our own making
- 10 Questions over Nigel Farage's quarantine status as he appears on stage with Donald Trump at rally
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.
MORE - LAYLA MORAN: Government's u-turn over EU ventilator scheme should be welcomed
However, the supplier said that having asked the government if it wanted the ventilators, it did not receive a reply.
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.'
Become a Supporter
The New European is proud of its journalism and we hope you are proud of it too. We believe our voice is important - both in representing the pro-EU perspective and also to help rebalance the right wing extremes of much of the UK national press. If you value what we are doing, you can help us by making a contribution to the cost of our journalism.
