Canberra confirmed the first human case of H5N1 bird flu on Australian soil this morning. The patient, a child who had recently travelled to India, is in isolation. But the real panic is in Westminster.
UK border officials are now scrambling to monitor poultry imports from Down Under. The logic: if it hops continents once, it can do it twice. DEFRA sources say they are 'reviewing biosecurity protocols' – a classic Whitehall euphemism for 'we are terrified and have no immediate plan.
' The real game is politics. Labour backbenchers are already sharpening knives, demanding a full ban on Australian poultry imports. They scent a vulnerability in the government's free trade deal with Australia.
The Trade Secretary is privately fuming, fearing a protectionist backlash that could unravel months of negotiations. Meanwhile, the Chief Medical Officer is urging calm. No one is listening.
The spectre of another pandemic, even a small one, is too potent a political weapon. Expect the usual: denials, briefings, and a sudden uptick in 'border resilience' photo ops.
