Realizing how controversial his comments could be made public, Johnson then retracted almost immediately, according to the sources, saying “I actually regret saying that … forget that I said that.”
Johnson’s spokesmen declined to comment on the matter to CNN.
A spokesman for the opposition Labor Party told CNN: “The idea that acts of selfishness … helped us to overcome this crisis seems very strange: it is difficult to find out where the prime minister is coming from.”
The timing of these comments may be worrying for the prime minister, as the European Commission is preparing to present its plans for stricter export controls on Covid-19 vaccines produced within the bloc.
The Brussels vaccine plan was hampered by supply and distribution problems.
The plans must also include new powers that allow the EU to withhold deliveries to countries that do not export vaccines reciprocally to the EU.
Leaders from the EU’s 27 member states will meet virtually on Thursday to discuss the Commission’s recommendations.
Leaders from Germany and Ireland have already called for caution over export measures that would target countries.
The United Kingdom, which has chosen not to participate in the EU’s vaccination strategy, has been implementing its citizen immunization program more quickly than the rest of the continent. Internally, this was framed by many as a result of Brexit and an example of what can be done now that the country is free from the EU’s bureaucratic yoke.
The European Medicines Agency was criticized for being slow in approving vaccines, so other EU nations turned to Russia and China to fill the gaps in vaccine supply through unilateral purchase agreements.
The UK’s relative success has been embarrassing for the EU. Any claims that the UK is not playing fair or suggestions for retroactive measures are easily framed as Brussels petulance, an attempt to blame others for their own failures.
However, Johnson’s greedy comments can be useful for a Commission that tries to unite Member States and paint the UK as the villain.
Which raises the key question: why did Johnson say that?
Those present at the meeting offered theories that the prime minister was “clearly joking” to a room of friends, as he spent the entire meeting “praising AstraZeneca for not seeking profit”, to suggestions he was “speaking in a typical Boris awkwardly “and stumbled upon discussing how the left-wing opposition Labor Party opposes any private investment in the National Health Service.
“He was talking offhand, I think, but he suddenly remembered that he was the prime minister,” a lawmaker attending the meeting told CNN.
There is no denying, however, that the timing of his comments is bad.
The vaccine’s launch was a rare success in Johnson’s response to the pandemic.
The UK still has the highest number of coronavirus deaths in Europe.
Anything that loved the vaccination program and delayed their plans to get the British out of confinement could seriously harm the prime minister and his government, at a time when they can hardly afford a serious blow – let alone one done by European Union.