Winchester & Chandler’s Ford MP, Steve Brine, urged the Government to go much further in its’ help for India during an urgent question in the House of Commons.
Steve Brine gave a heartfelt plea for the people of the country who are suffering a virulent second wave of Covid.
Steve said; “The awful scenes that we're seeing in India are obviously having a deeply personal and human impact there, but for many here too. People are dying right now and as we know from our experience; rising case numbers can only mean one thing. They can't breathe.”
As Mr Brine spoke, India confirmed 319,435 new daily cases, taking their total to 17,636,307 cases across India since the start of the pandemic. Our local Member of Parliament called on the Government to export the UK’s “vaccine miracle” to India and re-double any efforts to help the country with ventilators, treatments and even workforce.
James Cleverly, the Minister of State for Middle East and North Africa, responded on behalf of the Government; “He's absolutely right, India remains a long standing and close friend of the United Kingdom. They have come to our aid in our times of difficulty and it is absolutely right we reciprocate that now.
“I'm very proud of the fact that the UK Government have moved quickly to help supply oxygen related technologies. We're also committed to ensure both the scientific breakthroughs that the teams at Oxford University have created alongside AstraZeneca will be shared globally around the world and we're assessing what more we can do to support one of our very, very long-standing friends around the world.”
More Information