Covid third wave in UK will 'wash up on our shores': Johnson

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned the effects of a third wave of coronavirus will "wash up on our shores" from Europe.

Johnson  said the UK should be "under no illusion" we will "feel effects" of growing cases on the continent, reports the BBC.

The UK PM's comments came amid a row over Covid vaccine supplies, after the president of the European Commission warned that the EU could "forbid" doses made in the bloc from being exported to the UK.

EU leaders will hold a virtual meeting on Thursday to discuss their plans.

Johnson said he "talked to EU friends repeatedly" during the pandemic and had been "reassured... over the last few month they don't want to see blockades".

Downing Street also said the European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, had told Johnson earlier this year that the EU was not intending to restrict exports of vaccines.

Earlier, her chief spokesman, Eric Mamer, insisted that Brussels was not seeking to ban vaccine exports, but wanted pharmaceutical firms to meet their contractual obligations to the bloc.

Mamer said: "In that context, the president has said that, of course, we see that, actually, companies that manufacture doses in the EU have been exporting very widely - which is in itself a good thing - but that we want to see reciprocity and proportionality in these exports."

The latest flashpoint appears to be over doses made in a Dutch factory.