BBC News

Newspaper headlines: 'No EU can't have our jabs' and 'schools out'

By BBC News
Staff

Published
image captionThe dispute between the EU and AstraZeneca over coronavirus vaccine supply makes the lead story for many of the front pages. The i says the row has "exploded" after Brussels told the pharmaceutical company to send it jabs made in UK factories to make up for a shortfall on the continent. The EU is under fire for the slow rollout of vaccines among its member states, according to the paper.
image captionThe Daily Telegraph reports that MEPs have "stoked talk of a trade war" and threatened to block exports of the Belgian-made Pfizer vaccine to the UK. The paper says Prime Minister Boris Johnson has insisted the UK is "very confident" of its vaccine contracts and supply, which the Telegraph interprets as a rejection of calls for UK-made doses to be sent to the EU.
image captionThe Financial Times says the "bitter dispute" between the two sides is escalating and "risks unleashing an explosive post-Brexit political fight". But allies of Mr Johnson have told the paper he wants to stop the row intensifying and sparking "vaccine nationalism", with the prime minister publicly stressing the need for international co-operation.
image caption"No, EU can't have our jabs!" is the headline for the Daily Mail, which says the bloc is trying to "requisition" tens of millions of doses manufactured for the UK to make up for a 75 million shortfall on the continent. The European Commission said AstraZeneca was obliged to meet its contractual obligation despite production issues at its Belgian site, the paper reports.
image captionThe Daily Express accuses Brussels of trying to "hijack" UK-made jabs. It quotes Conservative MP and Brexit supporter Peter Bone as saying the move by the EU was selfish, urging them to "wait their turn".
image captionBritain is on a "collision course" with the EU over the issue, according to the Guardian, with the bloc's health commissioner arguing the UK should not earn any advantage from signing a contract with AstraZeneca three months before the EU. But UK government sources have told the paper that British factories in Oxford and Staffordshire would only be free to supply other countries once they had produced 100 million doses for the local population.
image captionHowever, industry sources have told the Times the UK has more than enough coronavirus vaccines for this year and could eventually donate them to other countries. The source also dismissed demands from Brussels to divert British supplies as "political rhetoric", saying they could not stop vaccines contracted for delivery.
image captionAway from Europe, the Daily Mirror focuses on the prime minister's announcement that pupils will not return to schools in England before 8 March. The paper says the plan makes its campaign raising money for basic tools to help poorer children learn at home "even more crucial".
image captionThe Metro leads with a story about a nurse who has been reunited with her baby after spending three months apart while she was being treated for coronavirus. Eva Gicain, 30, was so sick she did not even remember having a caesarean before she was put on a life support machine, the paper reports. She spent 76 days in hospital before being discharged this month, when she was able to hold her daughter, Elleana, for the first time.
image captionThe Sun leads with a story about pop star Rita Ora, reporting that her team offered a restaurant £5,000 to break Covid rules to host her 30th birthday party. In a statement to police, the venue's boss said he was contacted by a representative of the singer offering the money for use of the premises for "drinks and nibbles", the paper reports. Ora has previously apologised for breaching lockdown restrictions after attending the party but her team have not responded to the Sun's latest story.
image captionThe Daily Star has a story about a "game-changing" anal Covid test, which Chinese researchers say is more accurate than traditional tests. "If you thought mouth swabs were nasty, look away now," the paper warns, alongside the headline "squeaky bum time".

"Wait your turn!" is the message to Brussels from the Daily Express after the European Union attempted to, in the paper's words, "hijack" tens of millions of Covid vaccinations made in the UK.

The Financial Times says the EU's demands to make up its shortfall in expected doses from AstraZeneca "risks unleashing an explosive post-Brexit political fight" - but Boris Johnson believes his priority deal for 100 million doses is "watertight".

The message from Conservative MPs to the EU is equally forthright in the Daily Mail: "No, EU can't have our jabs!"

With the vaccine row showing no sign of abating, the Times reports that some of the UK's jabs could end up in other countries anyway because Britain has more than enough doses for this year. Someone described as a senior industry source says the UK has ordered 367 million vaccines, enough for five-and-a-half jabs per person.

Dismissing the European Union's demands for stocks to be diverted from the UK as "political rhetoric", the same source also points out there may be a "human rights issue" in taking away vaccines from people who are due a second jab.

image copyrightReuters

"Roadmap to nowhere," is the Daily Mirror's take on Boris Johnson's announcement that England's coronavirus lockdown could begin to be eased from 8 March.

But the Daily Telegraph says that potential date for schools to reopen is part of a wider "three-step plan" for lifting restrictions. Officials are reportedly working on the basis that non-essential shops could start trading again in April, with pubs and restaurants following in May.

The Daily Star is sceptical. "Does Bozo ever learn?" its leader asks, calling it "foolhardy" to even set a provisional date to reopen schools.

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The Financial Times reports that there are more than 100,000 surplus pigs waiting to be slaughtered on British farms. The National Pig Association says the issue is partly because the UK is phasing in customs requirements for EU imports, a grace period that the bloc has not reciprocated.

Farmers also reportedly blame "cheap German pork" for flooding the European market, after fears over African swine fever in wild boars led to a ban on exports from Berlin to China.

"My miracle Covid baby" is the heartwarming lead in the Metro, as it reports on the NHS nurse who has finally met her three-month-old daughter for the first time.

Eva Gicain was so ill with Covid she had no idea she had given birth via a caesarean.

After spending 76 days in hospital she was discharged earlier this month. A picture of the smiling new mother and baby also make the front page, with Ms Gicain describing their reunion as "a special moment".