WHO pandemic preparedness treaty ‘not acceptable’ to UK Government

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Andrew Stephenson told Parliament the Government is “firmly fighting in Britain’s interest”, adding that the WHO must “fully respect national sovereignty” in any treaty which comes forward as a result of negotiations. “It’s important to remember that because the exact form of the board has not yet been agreed, the Parliamentary and the adoption process will depend on which article of the WHO constitution the accord is adopted under.” Tory former home secretary Suella Braverman said: “Under no circumstances must we surrender our sovereignty or sign up to a lockdown charter.” Mrs Braverman asked Mr Stephenson: “Will the minster agree that fundamentally, and to coin a phrase, no pandemic treaty is better than a bad pandemic treaty?” Independent MP Andrew Bridgen called for a “deferment” of any WHO vote on a pandemic treaty “until this House and others around the world have had a chance to examine these very important details”. Labour’s shadow health minister Andrew Gwynne said: “I want to be clear that a Labour government would not sign anything which would leave our population unprotected in the face of a novel disease. “We’re debating a treaty that is still being negotiated by member states, and none of us know the final content or wording, so can the minister reconfirm to the House that the Government will not sign up to anything that would compromise the UK’s ability to take domestic decisions on national public health measures?” Earlier in the session, Mr Stephenson said: “First, the Government will only accept the accord and targeted amendments to the international health regulations if they are firmly in the United Kingdom’s national interest, and no text has yet been agreed.