The former Prime Minister has published his memoir, ‘Unleashed’ in which he reveals his plot to invade south Holland and seize Covid-19 vaccines
Boris Johnson was Prime Minister during the Covid pandemic (Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
In his sensational new tell-all book ‘Unleashed’, former Prime Minister Boris Johnson reveals he drew up a plot to invade The Netherlands and seize Covid-19 vaccines.
The former Conservative Party leader, who was in the eye of the storm during the Covid-19 crisis, now claims in his memoir that he schemed to send the UK’s special forces to raid Dutch canals and secure vaccine doses after exasperating “futile” talks with EU chiefs for the release of five million jabs.
His contingency plan emerged in 2021 when life-saving vaccines, despite being a UK innovation, were “kidnapped” by EU authorities and hoarded in a Leiden warehouse, amid massive bureaucratic entanglements.
Johnson, who orchestrated the Brexit campaign, discloses his plans to dispatch Britain’s elite soldiers into Dutch territory to reclaim these vaccines. His memoir, being serialised in the Daily Mail, sees the former PM admit that he ultimately saw the folly of his idea – conceding that his escapade was, by his own admission, “nuts”.
In his memoir, Johnson candidly reflects on his harrowing near-death experience at the height of the Covid pandemic.
EDITORS NOTE IMAGE REDACTED AT SOURCE BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE Handout file photo dated 13/11/20 issued by the House of Commons showing the then prime minister Boris Johnson (right) at a leaving gathering in the vestibule of the Press Office of 10 Downing Street, London, when rules were in force for the prevention of the spread of Covid, which was released in the Committee of Privileges report. The report has found Johnson committed repeated contempts of Parliament with his partygate denials that merited a 90-day suspension. The Privileges Committee’s recommended suspension for acts, including deliberately misleading MPs, would have paved the way for a by-election for the former prime minister if he had not resigned in anticipation. Issue date: Thursday June 15, 2023. PA Photo. See PA story POLITICS Johnson. Photo credit should read: Cabinet Office/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder. (Image: PA)
Johnson became critically ill after catching Covid, ending up fighting for his life in St Thomas’s Hospital’s ICU. He harrowingly reveals his fight to stay conscious, petrified that if he slept, he might slip away forever.
Adding a twist to his tale, Johnson claims rival and fellow Tory heavyweight Michael Gove learned of his potential demise and claims Gove’s “spectacles seemed to glitter at the thought”.
Touching on the so-called artygate saga that precipitated his political downfall, the ex-PM staunchly justifies his actions, expressing regret over not more forcefully defending his actions and those of his staff at Number 10.
He does concede he made “several mistakes” but takes a jab at Sue Gray, now Keir Starmer‘s chief of staff, who was responsible for investigating the Partygate scandal involving rule-breaking by Johnson’s government.
Boris Johnson (right) at a gathering celebrating his birthday – in which cake and alcohol was provided – in the Cabinet Room at 10 Downing Street, London, when rules were in force for the prevention of the spread of Covid (Image: PA)
Johnson bemoaned what he called Gray’s “ridiculous and unfair witch-hunt” against him.
On the topic of the lockdown party that triggered an investigation by the Metropolitan Police, Johnson downplays it as a “cake” meeting, claiming: “I saw no cake. I ate no blooming cake. If this was a party, it was the feeblest event in the history of human festivity.”
In a brazen attack, he also mocks the new Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, saying he looks like “a bullock having a thermometer unexpectedly shoved in its rectum”.
