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The Government has been accused of putting “Brexit over breathing” by refusing to take part in an EU ventilator scheme as the coronavirus crisis worsens.
No 10 has outlined its refusal to take part in the bloc’s initiative, which sees nations buy ventilators in bulk together in order to reduce cost.
The bloc indicated it would be open to the UK taking part but Boris Johnson’s official spokesman has ruled this out.
“Well, we are no longer members of the EU,” he said when asked why the UK was not using the scheme.
He pointed towards other efforts to secure ventilators, stating 8,000 had been ordered and are set to arrive in the coming weeks.
Coronavirus hits the UK – In pictures
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A woman wearing a face mask walks past Buckingham Palace
Getty Images
2/34
Boris Johnson addresses the nation on the Coronavirus lockdown
Andrew Parsons
3/34
A man holds mobile phone displaying a text message alert sent by the government warning that new rules are in force across the UK and people must stay at home
PA
4/34
Military vehicles cross Westminster Bridge after members of the 101 Logistic Brigade delivered a consignment of medical masks to St Thomas’ hospital
Getty Images
5/34
A shopper walks past empty shelves in a Lidl store on in Wallington. After spates of “panic buying” cleared supermarket shelves of items like toilet paper and cleaning products, stores across the UK have introduced limits on purchases during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some have also created special time slots for the elderly and other shoppers vulnerable to the new coronavirus.
Getty Images
6/34
A newspaper vendor in Manchester city centre giving away free toilet rolls with every paper bought as shops run low on supplies due to fears over the spread of the coronavirus
PA
7/34
People on a busy tube train in London at rush hour
PA
8/34
Mia, aged 8 and her brother Jack, aged 5 from Essex, continue their school work at home, after being sent home due to the coronavirus
PA
9/34
Children are painting ‘Chase the rainbows’ artwork and springing up in windows across the country
Reuters
10/34
Social distancing in Primrose Hill
Jeremy Selwyn
11/34
Westminster Bridge is deserted
PA
12/34
A general view of a locked gate at Anfield, Liverpool as The Premier League has been suspended
PA
13/34
An empty escalator at Charing Coss London Underground tube station
Jeremy Selwyn
14/34
Homeless people in London
AFP via Getty Images
15/34
A piece of art by the artist, known as the Rebel Bear has appeared on a wall on Bank Street in Glasgow. The new addition to Glasgow’s street art is capturing the global Coronavirus crisis. The piece features a woman and a man pulling back to give each other a kiss
PA
16/34
The Queen leaves Buckingham Palace, London, for Windsor Castle to socially distance herself amid the coronavirus pandemic
PA
17/34
A general view on Grey street, Newcastle as coronavirus cases grow around the world
Reuters
18/34
Matt Raw, a British national who returned from the coronavirus-hit city of Wuhan in China, leaves quaratine at Arrowe Park Hospital on Merseyside
PA
19/34
Britain’s Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty (L) and Chief Scientific Adviser Patrick Vallance look on as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson gestures as he speaks during a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) news conference inside 10 Downing Street
Reuters
20/34
The ticket-validation terminals at the tram stop on Edinburgh’s Princes Street are cleaned following the coronavirus outbreak.
PA
21/34
Locked school gates at Rockcliffe First School in Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear
PA
22/34
A sign at a Sainsbury’s supermarket informs customers that limits have been set on a small number of products as the number of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases grow around the world
Reuters
23/34
Jawad Javed delivers coronavirus protection kits that he and his wife have put together to the vulnerable people of their community of Stenhousemuir, between Glasgow and Edinburgh
AFP via Getty Images
24/34
A sign advertising a book titled “How Will We Survive On Earth?”
Getty Images
25/34
A man who appears to be homeless sleeping wearing a mask today in Victoria
Jeremy Selwyn
26/34
A pedestrian walks past graffiti that reads “Diseases are in the City” in Edinburgh
AFP via Getty Images
27/34
Staff from The Lyric Theatre, London inform patrons, as it shuts its doors
PA
28/34
A quiet looking George IV Bridge in Edinburgh
PA
29/34
A quieter than usual British Museum
Getty Images
30/34
A racegoer attends Cheltenham in a fashionable face mask
SplashNews.com
31/34
A commuter wears a face mask at London Bridge Station
Jeremy Selwyn
32/34
A empty restaurant in the Bull Ring Shopping Centre
Getty Images
33/34
A deserted Trafalgar Square in London
PA
34/34
Passengers determined to avoid the coronavirus before leaving the UK arrive at Gatwick Airport
Getty Images
1/34
A woman wearing a face mask walks past Buckingham Palace
Getty Images
2/34
Boris Johnson addresses the nation on the Coronavirus lockdown
Andrew Parsons
3/34
A man holds mobile phone displaying a text message alert sent by the government warning that new rules are in force across the UK and people must stay at home
PA
4/34
Military vehicles cross Westminster Bridge after members of the 101 Logistic Brigade delivered a consignment of medical masks to St Thomas’ hospital
Getty Images
5/34
A shopper walks past empty shelves in a Lidl store on in Wallington. After spates of “panic buying” cleared supermarket shelves of items like toilet paper and cleaning products, stores across the UK have introduced limits on purchases during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some have also created special time slots for the elderly and other shoppers vulnerable to the new coronavirus.
Getty Images
6/34
A newspaper vendor in Manchester city centre giving away free toilet rolls with every paper bought as shops run low on supplies due to fears over the spread of the coronavirus
PA
7/34
People on a busy tube train in London at rush hour
PA
8/34
Mia, aged 8 and her brother Jack, aged 5 from Essex, continue their school work at home, after being sent home due to the coronavirus
PA
9/34
Children are painting ‘Chase the rainbows’ artwork and springing up in windows across the country
Reuters
10/34
Social distancing in Primrose Hill
Jeremy Selwyn
11/34
Westminster Bridge is deserted
PA
12/34
A general view of a locked gate at Anfield, Liverpool as The Premier League has been suspended
PA
13/34
An empty escalator at Charing Coss London Underground tube station
Jeremy Selwyn
14/34
Homeless people in London
AFP via Getty Images
15/34
A piece of art by the artist, known as the Rebel Bear has appeared on a wall on Bank Street in Glasgow. The new addition to Glasgow’s street art is capturing the global Coronavirus crisis. The piece features a woman and a man pulling back to give each other a kiss
PA
16/34
The Queen leaves Buckingham Palace, London, for Windsor Castle to socially distance herself amid the coronavirus pandemic
PA
17/34
A general view on Grey street, Newcastle as coronavirus cases grow around the world
Reuters
18/34
Matt Raw, a British national who returned from the coronavirus-hit city of Wuhan in China, leaves quaratine at Arrowe Park Hospital on Merseyside
PA
19/34
Britain’s Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty (L) and Chief Scientific Adviser Patrick Vallance look on as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson gestures as he speaks during a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) news conference inside 10 Downing Street
Reuters
20/34
The ticket-validation terminals at the tram stop on Edinburgh’s Princes Street are cleaned following the coronavirus outbreak.
PA
21/34
Locked school gates at Rockcliffe First School in Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear
PA
22/34
A sign at a Sainsbury’s supermarket informs customers that limits have been set on a small number of products as the number of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases grow around the world
Reuters
23/34
Jawad Javed delivers coronavirus protection kits that he and his wife have put together to the vulnerable people of their community of Stenhousemuir, between Glasgow and Edinburgh
AFP via Getty Images
24/34
A sign advertising a book titled “How Will We Survive On Earth?”
Getty Images
25/34
A man who appears to be homeless sleeping wearing a mask today in Victoria
Jeremy Selwyn
26/34
A pedestrian walks past graffiti that reads “Diseases are in the City” in Edinburgh
AFP via Getty Images
27/34
Staff from The Lyric Theatre, London inform patrons, as it shuts its doors
PA
28/34
A quiet looking George IV Bridge in Edinburgh
PA
29/34
A quieter than usual British Museum
Getty Images
30/34
A racegoer attends Cheltenham in a fashionable face mask
SplashNews.com
31/34
A commuter wears a face mask at London Bridge Station
Jeremy Selwyn
32/34
A empty restaurant in the Bull Ring Shopping Centre
Getty Images
33/34
A deserted Trafalgar Square in London
PA
34/34
Passengers determined to avoid the coronavirus before leaving the UK arrive at Gatwick Airport
Getty Images
Asked if the decision was related to Brexit ideology, the spokesman said: “No, as I say, this is an area where we’re making our own efforts.”
Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran said: “We can’t put Brexit over breathing; lives must come first.”
She called upon the Government to rethink its decision.
Labour’s shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth also criticised the decision not to take part in the EU scheme.
“With widespread concerns about our ventilator capacity and the urgent need to scale-up that capacity, we should be co-operating through international schemes to ensure we get these desperately need pieces of kit,” he said.
