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Matt Hancock has rejected claims by the he Foreign Office's chief civil servant that the UK not participating in EU wide PPE procurement was "a political decision".

Foreign Office Permanent Under Secretary Sir Simon McDonald told the Foreign Affairs committee that ministers were briefed about opportunities but decided not to take part.

But just hours later the Health Secretary hit back.

He said: "As far as I'm aware there was no political decision not to participate in that scheme."

He added: "We did receive an invitation in the Department of Health and it was put up to me to be asked and we joined so we are now members of that scheme.

"However, as far as I know that scheme hasn't a single item of PPE."

The Mirror understands that Sir Simon McDonald will shortly be writing to foreign affairs committee to "clarify" his comments on the EU procurement scheme.

The EU scheme, which is organised by the European Commission, has been organised in several rounds and has covered ventilators and PPE.

Government sources explained that the UK missed the section which produced ventilators, but joined for subsequent rounds which covered PPE.

Initially Sir Simon told MPs on the Foreign Affairs Select Committee that it was because Britain had left the EU.

But challenged by Labour MP Chris Bryant that the UK was still eligible to take part, Sir Simon said: "All I can say is that we have not taken part."

Asked about the process of making that decision Sir Simon said: "It was a political decision"

"Ministers were briefed on what was available, what was on offer by the mission in Brussels and the decision is known."

Previously the UK Government had claimed there was "absolutely no ideology" and it had missed an email invitation from the EU to join the scheme.

In mid-March the European Commission confirmed Britain was still "eligible to participate in these joint procedures" despite formally leaving the EU on 31 January.

On March 26, the Prime Minister's official spokesman confirmed that they had missed participating because of a missed communication.

He added that the government would "consider doing so in future rounds" and stressed that there was "no blame attached here".

Later that week Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove said that the scheme didn't have anything the NHS needed in it despite it covering ventilators, PPE, and testing equipment.

(Image: BBC)

Speaking on Andrew Marr on March 29 he said:“There was some confusion over our involvement in that scheme.

“But I’ve talked to senior figures in the NHS and they’ve reassured me that there is nothing that we can’t do as an independent nation that being part of that scheme would have allowed us to do.”

Asked whether an email was received by the government, he said: “There was some communication confusion, I don’t know all the details of that, but I do know having talked to senior figures in the NHS that there’s nothing that participating in that scheme would have allowed us to do that we have not been able to do ourselves.”