WEALTHY European countries were slammed today for squabbling over their Covid-19 vaccine supplies when poorer nations could be years behind in inoculating their citizens.

It comes after the European Union withdrew threats to put checks at the Irish border in a bid to prevent vaccines made on the continent from entering Britain.

In a panic over its supplies, the EU threatened to invoke Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol and staked a claim to Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine doses made in Britain — claiming that the pharma firm was reneging on a deal to supply EU nations.