Bill Esterson
Main Page: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)Department Debates - View all Bill Esterson's debates with the Cabinet Office
(2 years, 10 months ago)
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The Prime Minister
My hon. Friend has raised the issues of the immunosuppressed before, and I understand the points that he makes. We have contacted 1.3 million of them with a view to giving them treatment with antivirals.
Bill Esterson (Sefton Central) (Lab)
The Prime Minister’s answers on the shortages of tests would have more credibility if he were to support British manufacturing. My hon. Friend the Member for Lewisham West and Penge (Ellie Reeves) asked him earlier why British manufacturers had not been given permission to make lateral flow tests and sell them in this country while they had permission to do so in the European Union. Why is it that the European Union has given them that permission when the British Government have not done so? Could he find out the answer to that? Giving them that permission would increase the supply of tests, which are currently in chronically short supply as we have heard again and again this afternoon, and it would be a great way of supporting of the British economy and manufacturing in this country.
The Prime Minister
I am afraid the hon. Gentleman is talking total nonsense. There was no manufacturing capability at all for lateral flow tests in this country, but we now have the largest single manufacturing plant for LFTs in Europe. Let me repeat that, because I do not think the Opposition knew this. The UK has the largest manufacturing plant for LFTs in Europe—