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Boris Johnson: we considered ‘aquatic raid’ on Netherlands to seize Covid vaccine (www.theguardian.com)

submitted 1 month ago by Emperor@feddit.uk to c/uk_politics@feddit.uk

4 comments fedilink hide all child comments

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/17987102

The AstraZeneca vaccine was, at the time, at the heart of a cross-Channel row over exports, and Johnson believed the EU was treating the UK “with malice”.

Johnson said that he “had commissioned some work on whether it might be technically feasible to launch an aquatic raid on a warehouse in Leiden, in the Netherlands, and to take that which was legally ours and which the UK desperately needed”.

The deputy chief of the defence staff, Lt Gen Doug Chalmers, told the prime minister the plan was “certainly feasible” and would involve using rigid inflatable boats to navigate Dutch canals.

“They would then rendezvous at the target; enter; secure the hostage goods, exfiltrate using an articulated lorry, and make their way to the Channel ports,” Johnson wrote.

However, Chalmers told Johnson it would be difficult to carry out the mission undetected, meaning the UK would “have to explain why we are effectively invading a longstanding Nato ally”.

Johnson concluded: “Of course, I knew he was right, and I secretly agreed with what they all thought, but did not want to say aloud: that the whole thing was nuts.”

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[–] njm1314@lemmy.world 18 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I can't decide what's worse, the idea that this is true or the idea that he's making it up. I don't know which one it is and I don't know which one is worse.

[–] kbal@fedia.io 3 points 1 month ago

I'm inclined to believe it. Governments went absolutely nuts at the height of the Covid panic, Boris Johnson's government more so than most.

[–] GreatAlbatross@feddit.uk 10 points 1 month ago

I can imagine that would have gone down well with Boris' biggest fan base.

Followed swiftly by everyone else burying their faces in their palms, on both sides of the channel.

And probably everyone on the ground contracting covid during the raid for bonus "yes minister" points.

[–] Noit@lemm.ee 3 points 1 month ago

I think “considered” is probably doing a lot of heavy lifting there. I’m pretty sure someone came up with it, maybe even Boris, and then he repeated it a bunch of times in front of semi-relevant people in a jokey-jokey way followed by an “…unless?”

I imagine nobody with any level of responsibility in actually producing such a raid considered anything apart from how to most politely say no to the prime minister.