Boris Johnson's Secret Plan to Raid Dutch Factory for COVID Vaccines

Former British PM Boris Johnson revealed that he ordered military authorities to plan a raid on a Dutch factory in March 2021 to secure 5 million COVID vaccines. The raid was deemed feasible but diplomatically risky. Johnson's memoir claims the EU tried to withhold vaccines amid strained Brexit relations.

Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has disclosed that he directed military officials to draft a plan for a raid on a Dutch factory in March 2021, aiming to secure 5 million COVID vaccines threatened by the European Union's export restrictions.

Johnson recounted that Lieutenant General Doug Chalmers, then Britain's deputy chief of defence staff, informed him that a small-boat raid across the Channel and through Dutch canals was attainable, yet warned of severe diplomatic consequences. Chalmers cautioned that any detection would necessitate Britain to justify an apparent intrusion into a NATO ally's territory.

In a memoir excerpt published in the Daily Mail, Johnson admitted secretly agreeing with sceptics who found the idea impractical. A precursor to tensions, the vaccines in question were produced by AstraZeneca in Dutch and British facilities, but EU approval delayed their usage in the bloc. Johnson believed EU actions were influenced by French President Emmanuel Macron and the frustration over Brexit negotiations.

(With inputs from agencies.)