London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Jul 21, 2025

Former Labour chair criticised for raising doubts over Covid vaccine

Former Labour chair criticised for raising doubts over Covid vaccine

Ian Lavery expressed ‘concerns about how these vaccines have come on to the market’ in just four months

The former Labour party chair, Ian Lavery, has come under fire after questioning why anyone would have confidence in the Covid vaccine and expressing concern at the pace at which the two newly introduced jabs were approved.

Footage of the MP emerged hours after the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, spoke out about anti-vax campaigns and said he would support emergency legislation to tackle them. It shows Lavery apparently casting doubt over the speed at which the regulatory process was carried out for the vaccines.

However, Lavery – who is understood to have been spoken to by Starmer’s office – later tweeted that “my words have been taken out of context”, adding that he rejected “any claims that I am in any way opposed to the rollout”. He also praised the scientific community’s achievements on the vaccine.

The comments were made in a video broadcast by Socialist Telly – which describes itself as “Grassroots Socialist Television, for the many” – on 3 January. Noting the government’s handling of test and trace, PPE provision and the awarding of public contracts, Lavery said: “Why would anybody have any confidence in the vaccine?”

The Oxford vaccine from lab to jab


Lavery, who also made reference to the UK’s decision to delay administering the second vaccine dose so more people could get their first jab sooner, made clear he wanted people to get the vaccine. “I want everybody, let me be honest, I want people to take the vaccines, I really, really do and it’s important,” he said.

However, in the footage – first reported by the Guido Fawkes website on Tuesday – he added: “I have got concerns about how these vaccines have … come on to the market when it would normally take 10 years and it’s … [taken] four month[s]. It normally takes three or four years to pass through the regulatory procedures … it hasn’t taken three or four weeks. And of course I’ve got concerns, massive concerns, about this government and the lack of trust.”

Responding to a clip of the footage, the former Labour MP Mike Gapes – who defected to Change UK in 2019 before losing his seat at the general election – tweeted: “What a disgrace.”

Lavery, an ally of the former leader Jeremy Corbyn, served as the party chair for nearly three years until April 2020.

On Tuesday, Starmer told ITV’s Good Morning Britain that “we have to deal with the anti-vax campaigns because they will cost lives”, as he explained that he would be prepared to work with the government to pass emergency legislation to deal with them.

Lavery tweeted on Tuesday afternoon: “Like everyone else, I am blown away by the achievements of our scientific community in bringing a vaccine forward for a disease we have only known about for a year. My words have been taken out of context and I reject any claims that I am in any way opposed to the rollout.

“We now need a national effort to ensure the vaccine is rolled out. I urge everyone to make sure they get the vaccine as soon as possible so we can once again see family and friends and get back to fighting for a better Britain.”

Rollout began on Monday for the recently-approved Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine, the second to be given the green light in the UK. It follows the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) also authorising the Pfizer/BioNTech jab last month, which made the UK the first western country to license a vaccine against Covid. Speaking as the Oxford vaccine was approved at the end of last month, the MHRA chief executive, Dr June Raine, stressed “no corners, whatsoever, have been cut”.

As England begins a third national lockdown that will last for at least seven weeks to stem the spread of the virus, the government is hoping to deliver a first vaccine dose to those in the four highest-priority groups – 13.9 million people – by mid-February.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Defends Attorney General Pam Bondi Amid Epstein Memo Backlash
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
×