Coronavirus vaccines: PM to telephone EU leaders in bid to stop export ban being imposed

Boris Johnson is expected to speak to his EU counterparts this week as a row over Covid vaccine supplies continues.

EU leaders will hold a virtual meeting on Thursday to discuss a ban on Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine exports to the UK - but the PM aims to put the UK's case in one-on-one phone calls before that.

The European Commission president says the EU can "forbid" vaccines made on the continent being sent to the UK.

But a government minister said it was crucial the EU honours its commitments.

Downing Street said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told Mr Johnson earlier this year that the EU was not intending to restrict exports of vaccines.

Helen Whately, health and social care minister, urged the EU to stand by this commitment and warned against "vaccine nationalism and protectionism".

The latest flashpoint appears to be over doses made in a Dutch factory.