The symbolic politics of changed email addresses

We have seen many examples of how to combine issues like Brexit and covid into overall narratives and moral panics. This example shows that farce can be involved as well

EU commission rejects Raab's claims in medical procurement row

UK foreign secretary has said EU invite for Covid-19 scheme was sent to old email address

 A commission official said the UK was not included on the original email list because it had already left the EU, but added there had been “ample opportunity” for the British government to join four schemes to bulk-buy medical supplies launched earlier this year.

As always,there seems to be a marvellous flexibility over whether the UK has left the EU or not -- an enigma at the heart of a bureaucracy as someone might nearly have said.

The UK has since decided to join an EU procurement scheme to obtain intensive care medicines, such as antibiotics and anaesthetics, the Guardian has learned.

 After it emerged the UK had missed deadlines to join four EU procurement schemes, the UK increased its attendance at the EU’s H[ealth] S[ecurity] C[ommittee] meetings.... Raab said there had been “no explicit discussion at these [HSC] meetings of whether the UK would be eligible to participate”. He also said ministers had not been briefed ahead of the schemes being launched.

The Foreign Office’s most senior official, Sir Simon McDonald, said the UK had taken a political decision not to join and that “the UK missions in Brussels briefed ministers about what was available” – but later retracted his testimony. McDonald was subsequently asked to stand down “at the request” of Boris Johnson