Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister, Gaston Browne, has written to Britain’s Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, saying that “an appropriate response is necessary” for the damage done to his country’s small economy by a Public Health England (PHE) website posting that wrongly claimed “an Antigua variant” of the coronavirus had been discovered in the UK.
Browne proposed that the British Government urgently consider recompensing Antigua and Barbuda by a donation of 100,000 doses of the AstraZenica vaccines.
In his letter, Browne told Johnson that “Antigua and Barbuda is highly dependent on tourism and has long been a favoured holiday destination for British tourists but the PHE notice, that went viral after it was picked up by international media, has caused hotel bookings to be cancelled”.
The Antigua leader said his country was already “reeling from the almost complete shutdown of tourism caused by the pandemic” and asserted that the PHE posting has “eroded confidence in the gains Antigua and Barbuda made in its management of the virus”. “We now have to redouble our efforts at great expense”, he said.
The Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister drew Johnson’s attention to the fact that “no British visitor to Antigua had contracted COVID-19” in his country. He affirmed that his government has enforced strict protocols for managing the pandemic and has a comparatively low level of infections and a high level of recoveries. Mr Brown also stressed that the British High Commission to Antigua and Barbuda explicitly stated on March 13 that “there is no scientific evidence to determine where this variant first emerged” and that it regrated “any misunderstanding that may have arisen from the matter”.
However, Mr Browne said that “the damage was done from the moment that PHE erroneously published the claim on its website. He has suggested to Prime Minister Johnson that “consideration should be given to recompensing Antigua and Barbuda with a donation of 100,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccines”. Antigua and Barbuda is one of over 150 nations that are struggling to secure vaccines at a time when the costs are high and more than 80 per cent of them have bought by rich countries, including the UK.
Prime Minister Browne remarked to Mr Johnson that “Antigua and Barbuda has always cherished its close relationship with Britain” and he “looked forward to a favourable response to his proposal”.
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He’s only drawing more attention to the Antiguan variant
The samething you fools said when he wrote Harvard University demanding reparations. Prime Minister Browne, you lead and they will soon catch the vision
Gaston Browne,hotels bookings were down and being cancelled before that news break.I were to meet some friends and relatives in Antigua from London.They called me and told they cancelled the trip.This was before the Virus strain matter and Antigua.We were to stay at the Hotel in Deep Bay.A “shake down” is in order.
WANNA BEE your views are invariably so spot on and sensible. You must be a very smart person. Compensation for what? Yes, tourism is our main industry and the United Kingdom is one of our major source markets. However, flights and tourists from the United Kingdom dried up months ago. I was at Long Bay yesterday swimming and Pineapple Beach Hotel that would be overrun with mainly British tourists at this time is closed. Gaston’s request for compensation is tantamount to telling the British government to pay the Hotel for all the guests that normally would be there. I gave a ridiculous example to show how ridiculous the claim for compensation is.
You’re so small-minded.
Dude why don’t you stfu and go St. John Police Station to look one client and for once do your work as a lawyer. Its like you get turn in when you see Gaston Browne name you get one hard on.
peanut brain tabor…..
Lol the British Prime Minister should tell him to SIT YOUR ASS DOWN SILLY MAN WITH A MOUSTACHE . Think the British Government is like Àntigua people that just lay down and take everything that comes from you shuups .
Boris can’t even get his hair brushed or use some gel to stop looking so unkempt. Does he even shower? What a messy-looking “prime minister”
Soon he won’t have any ass to sit on. Shouldn’t be much longer with all them lands he giving away in exchange
Worth a try as every UK newspaper carried the story and I’ve not seen retractions & apologies printed because the papers published PHE information.
PM desperately scrambling for vaccine ( that we all need) .
Lucky he didn’t try and shake down Boris for hard kash!!
Careful which 100,000 dem give you ! Me done say me nar go tek the shot !!
It would have been more sensible to reach out diplomatically and make a request of the UK Government’s assistance with providing vaccines than to resort to blackmail and gutter politics to reach satisfactory compensation for what could be an erroneous report. Many variants exist. Technology have been able to identify and isolate them. VOTE THIS MAN OUT! HE’S A LIABILITY TO STATESMANSHIP!
Nothing beats a failure but a try.
What a man this PM of ours. He will not let a good opportunity go to waste. You can’t fault him for not having given it a try. And when and if he is succesfull what will these negative elements have to say. I mean he has proven in the past to bring it home. Look how he fought for the De-Risking of our banking system. Caricom made him spoke and point person. He went all over the world and was requested to be featured speaker on many international forums. But don’t worry. Politics and the hatred for the man blind many of them that they wish their own country ill so long as he is in the picture. And that want to call themselves Faithfull Nationals.
U wanna kiss his feet too ?
We’re going to overlook the fact that he is responsible for this whole mess by mismanaging the covid situation?
If Gaston is going to beg for vaccines, he should beg for the Moderna, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson or the Novavax (soon to be approved) one.
I’m most pleased with the Oxford AstraZeneca….check the rate of side-effects on all the Vaccines….
AstraZeneca is far better.
Beggars are not choosers
FROM THE SIDELINE have you forgotten you are talking about your World Boss Gaston? What do you mean beggars are not choosers? When Gaston speaks the whole world listens and Joe Biden, Boris Johnson, Justin Trudeau and Angela Merkle tremble.
so go in your corner, catch covid end up at the hospital, cant ever get an erection for a year or never again
This fool sounds more like a Guyanese or Jamaican than Antiguan. He makes a complete mess of the economy, than takes every opportunity to beg white smaddy for handouts. No British pounds are coming PM; Antiguans will have to save themselves.
Traitor and dictator Gaston can now add King Beggar to his title.
Where are the murderers of Nigel Christian and Andrea Hughes?
Where are the murderers of Nigel Christian and Andrea Hughes?
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