Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response: International Agreement Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Siobhain McDonagh
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Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response: International Agreement
Siobhain McDonagh Excerpts(1 year, 6 months ago)
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Sir Christopher Chope
I agree with my hon. Friend, as I almost always do. Prevention is better than cure. Why would we want to give up control over all these issues by signing up to this treaty?
I have here a quote from Richard Horton, the editor-in-chief of The Lancet. He said:
“The allegation that WHO shared responsibility for the pandemic by adopting a policy of appeasement towards China has proven impossible to refute.”
There we have it. The editor-in-chief of no less than The Lancet says that we need to be extremely suspicious of what is going on and what may happen. That is a good credential for the Government to adopt in saying, “We are not going to adopt this WHO treaty under article 19; we are going to examine it more carefully, be much more circumspect, and retain the ability of our own country and our own people to decide these important issues for ourselves.”
Siobhain McDonagh (in the Chair)
As all the Back Benchers who wanted to speak have done so, we move on to the Front-Bench spokespeople. I call Anne McLaughlin for the SNP.