Statement on Prime Minister’s communications with the pharmaceutical industry

  

I was pleased to co-sign this statement calling on Prime Minister, government ministers and senior civil servants to publish all their private communications with pharmaceutical companies and their lobbyists since the start of the pandemic.

The full text of the statement reads:

“The alleged ease of access that wealthy business people have had directly to the Prime Minister in order to influence his behaviour and government policy, has rightly alarmed people across the country. Over the last year the government has transferred billions of pounds of public money to pharmaceutical companies in secretive deals that have resulted in the UK getting preferential access to limited vaccine supplies. However, the UK has also become one of the loudest voices at the World Trade Organisation opposing calls – from over a hundred countries with little or no access to vaccines – for the monopolies on COVID medicines and vaccines to be broken.

“With spare vaccine manufacturing sitting idle and COVID cases rapidly rising around the world it is outrageous that the government continues to side with the pharmaceutical industry and their profits over the action needed to save more lives and end the pandemic.

“We urgently call for the Prime Minister, government ministers and senior civil servants to publish all their private text messages, emails and WhatsApp communication with pharmaceutical companies and their lobbyists since the start of the pandemic. There must be public scrutiny of any corporate influence over the government’s domestic and international vaccine policy to ensure that no preferential access has been given and no secret deals have been made using taxpayers money without accountability or oversight. We cannot allow wealthy corporate executives to have access and influence when it comes at the cost of the lives of people around the world whose voices are being ignored by the PM.”