Boris Johnson has told a private meeting of Tory MPs that the success of the UK’s Covid vaccine programme was because of “capitalism” and “greed”. But sources say the prime minister had “very insistently” withdrawn his comments straight after making them during a Zoom call with backbenchers. A government source says Mr Johnson was referring to the profit motive driving companies to develop new products and the remarks were not connected to the EU row over vaccine supply. The PM also reportedly praised work by large drug companies during the pandemic.