Sir Simon retracted which is unusual enough - worth remembering EU schemes have so far not delivered vital kit, but...
Sources part of Cobra talks at start of pandemic say there were conversations about working with EU where Health Sec acknowledged sensitivities of doing so - one says he was urged to put politics aside, and minister there says there was added dilemma about anything to do with EU
But sources close to Health Sec strongly dispute there were any Cobra discussions about the specific EU schemes and are adamant ideological considerations were not part of any of the process
Whatever happened, it’s clear that PPE has become one of specific but vital political problems of crisis as govt has expanded massively in a matter of weeks to keep up - wouldn’t be surprised if it comes up at #pmqs tmrw
