Meanwhile, there is another row raging after two German newspapers claimed the EU‘s regulator could refuse to give the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab full approval, with officials anonymously briefing its efficacy for pensioners was just eight per cent.

However, the claim was branded ‚absolutely incorrect‘ and ‚unsubstantiated‘ by the pharmaceutical company – and No10 sources told MailOnline it was ‚rubbish‘. One Whitehall source told Playbook it was the kind of tactics ‚you expect from the Russians‘.