• Disrupting Power Since 2015
  • Donate
  • Login
Thursday, May 15, 2025
  • Login
  • Register
Canary
MEDIA THAT DISRUPTS
  • News
    • UK
    • Global
    • Analysis
    • Trending
  • Editorial
  • Features
    • Features
    • Environment
    • Lifestyle
    • Health
    • Money
    • Science
    • Business
    • Tech
    • Travel
    • Sport & Gaming
  • Media
    • Video
    • Cartoons
  • Opinion
No Result
View All Result
MANAGE SUBSCRIPTION
SUPPORT
  • News
    • UK
    • Global
    • Analysis
    • Trending
  • Editorial
  • Features
    • Features
    • Environment
    • Lifestyle
    • Health
    • Money
    • Science
    • Business
    • Tech
    • Travel
    • Sport & Gaming
  • Media
    • Video
    • Cartoons
  • Opinion
No Result
View All Result
Canary
No Result
View All Result

Starmer challenges Raab over coronavirus response at Labour leader’s first PMQs

The Canary by The Canary
22 April 2020
in Health, News, Other News & Features, UK
Reading Time: 4 mins read
165 7
A A
1
Home Other News & Features Health
319
SHARES
2.5k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

The Government was accused of being slow to respond to the coronavirus crisis as Dominic Raab faced questions on testing and protection for NHS and care workers in his Prime Minister’s Questions clash with Keir Starmer.

The new Labour leader and foreign secretary Raab – deputising for Boris Johnson as the prime minister continued his recovery from Covid-19 – faced each other in a sparsely attended House of Commons as the majority of MPs participated remotely.

Starmer questioned the government’s progress towards its target of carrying out 100,000 tests a day by the end of the month and claimed that opportunities to acquire personal protective equipment (PPE) from British firms had been missed.

Prime Minister’s Questions
Labour leader Keir Starmer’s first PMQs (PA/House of Commons)

He said: “There is a pattern emerging here. We were slow into lockdown, slow on testing, slow on protective equipment and now slow to take up these offers from British firms.”

Raab told him that the government was guided by scientific advisers.

He said that if Starmer “thinks he knows better than they do, with the benefit of hindsight, then that’s his decision”.

Raab said 8,000 British businesses had responded to a call for assistance on PPE and they had all received a response, with some 3,000 followed up where it was “sensible” if they had equipment with the required specification and volume.

He said it was an “incredibly difficult and competitive international environment” to source PPE from overseas.

On testing, the latest figures showed that less than half of the available capacity was being used and fewer than 20,000 tests had been carried out in a 24-hour period.

Starmer questioned how the government would ramp that up to 100,000 tests a day in just eight days’ time – particularly as some care workers and NHS staff could only be tested if they could drive to a site.

Ministers have repeatedly insisted the target will be met and Raab said “those tests will be crucial not just in terms of controlling the virus but allowing the country to move to the next phase”.

He said mobile labs were now being used, with the Army also helping to get tests to where they were needed.

In other developments:

– An RAF plane landed at Brize Norton from Turkey in the early hours of Wednesday, after being sent to collect a shipment of PPE – including badly-needed surgical gowns.

– The government continued to face questions about its participation in EU schemes to secure vital equipment, with Brussels saying there had been “ample opportunity” for the UK to join in.

Coronavirus cases in Great Britain
(PA Graphics)

– Professor Robin Shattock from Imperial College’s Department of Infectious Disease, said a coronavirus vaccine may be available for front-line workers and the most vulnerable by late winter

– Cancer Research UK warned that more than 2,200 new cancer cases could be going undetected each week as fewer people go to see their GP and also due to practitioners’ reluctance to send patients to hospital due to the risk of Covid-19 infection.

Labour said 36 companies had approached the party to claim that offers of help to supply PPE had been ignored.

They included Issa Exchange Ltd in Birmingham which said it offered a quarter of a million aprons and masks, Network Medical Products in Ripon, which says it can provide 100,000 face visors per week and CQM Learning, which says it can provide 8,000 face shields per day.

Share128Tweet80
Previous Post

Basic needs before bailouts

Next Post

3 potential positive outcomes from the coronavirus crisis

Next Post
3 potential positive outcomes from the coronavirus crisis

3 potential positive outcomes from the coronavirus crisis

Peter Bone

A pro-Brexit Tory MP just asked a PMQs question worthy of John McDonnell

The Daily Telegraph logo with a magnifying glass. fake news

The desperate Telegraph just ripped off a story from independent media

Jeremy Corbyn on backbenches in parliament

Jeremy Corbyn's on the backbenches again, but he's still leading

Ian Blackford and Keir Starmer

Ian Blackford nails the question Keir Starmer should have asked at PMQs

Please login to join discussion
The British Museum just held an event with the Israeli embassy - and the Met police responded by repressing Palestine protesters
News

British Museum holds event with the Israeli embassy – so Met Police respond by repressing Palestine protesters

by The Canary
14 May 2025
EXPOSED: the public is paying for Keir Starmer's in-laws to live virtually rent-free in London
Analysis

EXPOSED: the public is paying for Keir Starmer’s in-laws to live virtually rent-free in London

by Ed Sykes
14 May 2025
People are coming together on 7 June to oppose Labour's DWP benefit cuts
News

People are coming together on 7 June to oppose Labour’s DWP benefit cuts

by The Canary
14 May 2025
Keir Starmer's 'Island of Strangers' speech: channeling the racist rhetoric of Enoch Powell
Opinion

Is Keir Starmer capable of killing?

by Jamie Driscoll
14 May 2025
As an ACTUAL GENOCIDE continues, its apologists come for Gary Lineker over an emoji
Opinion

As an ACTUAL GENOCIDE continues, its apologists come for Gary Lineker over an emoji

by Ed Sykes
14 May 2025
  • Contact
  • About & FAQ
  • Get our Daily News Email
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy

The Canary
PO Box 71199
LONDON
SE20 9EX

Canary Media Ltd – registered in England. Company registration number 09788095.

For guest posting, contact [email protected]

For other enquiries, contact: [email protected]

The Canary is owned and run by independent journalists and volunteers, NOT offshore billionaires.

You can write for us, or support us by making a regular or one-off donation.

© Canary Media Ltd 2024, all rights reserved | Website by Monster | Hosted by Krystal | Privacy Settings

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • UK
    • Global
    • Analysis
    • Trending
  • Editorial
  • Features
    • Features
    • Environment
    • Lifestyle
    • Health
    • Money
    • Science
    • Business
    • Tech
    • Travel
    • Sport & Gaming
  • Media
    • Video
    • Cartoons
  • Opinion

© 2023 Canary - Worker's co-op.

Before you go, have you seen...?

The British Museum just held an event with the Israeli embassy - and the Met police responded by repressing Palestine protesters
News
The Canary

British Museum holds event with the Israeli embassy – so Met Police respond by repressing Palestine protesters

EXPOSED: the public is paying for Keir Starmer's in-laws to live virtually rent-free in London
Analysis
Ed Sykes

EXPOSED: the public is paying for Keir Starmer’s in-laws to live virtually rent-free in London

People are coming together on 7 June to oppose Labour's DWP benefit cuts
News
The Canary

People are coming together on 7 June to oppose Labour’s DWP benefit cuts

Keir Starmer's 'Island of Strangers' speech: channeling the racist rhetoric of Enoch Powell
Opinion
Jamie Driscoll

Is Keir Starmer capable of killing?

ADVERTISEMENT
Business
Nathan Spears

When digital isn’t enough: why paper still matters in modern business

Tech
Nathan Spears

How Digital Addictions Are Formed in the Shadow of Large Platforms

Lifestyle
Nathan Spears

Recovery in the Sun: How the Canary Islands are Becoming a Wellness Tourism Hub