Boris Johnson: We are entering the last phase of the struggle

Last night the Prime Minister announced England would be placed under a third national lockdown to combat the rise in coronavirus cases in every part of the country due to the new strain of Covid-19. During an eight-minute address to the nation, the public were told to “stay at home” as they did during the first lockdown in March. It is expected the new measures, which replace the tiers system, will last until the middle of February, with Mr Johnson hoping more than 13 million people will have all been offered the first dose of a vaccine by then.

But Mr Ellwood wants the PM to go one step further in a final push to meet that promise and get Britain back to normality by Easter.

He told Express.co.uk: “The unsung heroes during the pandemic and one of the assets that have not been utilised to their full extent is the Armed Forces.

“They have national capabilities, they are hugely flexible and extremely capable, as illustrated by the pilot testing programme in Liverpool and over Christmas dealing with the backlog of lorries in Dover.

“What we are looking at now is an unprecedented rollout of a vaccination programme – the penny has already dropped that this takes us out of the difficult chapter we now enter.

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“Anything we can do to expedite the vaccination programme should be considered.

“That leads to mobilising the Armed Forces to assist the NHS on a scale unseen before – I would highly recommend that to the Government.”

Mr Ellwood, who served in the Royal Green Jackets before becoming a Conservative MP, outlined a plan for Express.co.uk for how the military could be the perfect asset.

He added: “The legislation will be presented to Parliament and voted on tomorrow and I can’t see the third lockdown being voted down.

“The big difference now is we have the rollout of the vaccination which has to go to every single community across the country – the reach is the challenge.

“We are already seeing vaccination centres spring up left, right, and centre, but also you need to be able to take the vaccination to the people – care homes and other places where there isn’t the ability to get to the centres.

“You have logistics, which the Armed Forces do so well – whether it’s the coordination of people or resources – this is what they do, it’s their bread and butter.

“Imagine a sergeant major-type character at the centres, cutting about and making things happen – it would give people a sense of confidence that we have this under control.”

The Bournemouth East MP believes there has previously been caution within Government to utilise the military as it is a sign of failure but believes now is the time to put aside that “myth”.

He added: “I say this with caution, but there has been a hesitance during the pandemic to use the Armed Forces.

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“Yes they built the Nightingale hospitals, yes they helped with the transport of oxygen.

“But with the strategic planning, the operational and the emergency training they receive, they are the only department in Government that plans for major, large-scale emergencies.

“Yet their strategic thinking and training in emergency planning has not been utilised to its full potential.

“I’m afraid there is a myth that leaning on the Armed Forces is a sign of failure.”

When asked, Mr Ellwood agreed that now was the time to act in order to get the country back to normality before Easter.

He added: “Look at the numbers themselves, you are talking about 13 million vaccinations in six weeks.

“We have to get to the capacity to do two million-a-week and to get to that rollout you absolutely require the Armed Forces.

“We would be foolish to suggest otherwise. The Armed Forces, I know, are sitting there wanting to help, wanting to play their part as an asset.

“You can easily train them up to administer vaccinations and to run the centres themselves.”

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