No 10 'must treat medicines supply the same as defence'

The availability of most NHS medicines could be at risk unless the UK government strengthens its supply chains to prepare for worsening geopolitical tensions, ministers have been warned.

- REBECCA THOMAS MILLIE COOKE KATE DEVLIN ALICJA HAGOPIAN

Manufacturers in Britain have urged the government to treat it as a defence issue, with the supply of drugs such as antibiotics under threat if global tensions continue to rise as a result of Donald Trump’s decision to impose hefty tariffs across the world.

If pharmaceutical and medical suppliers are hit by the US-led tariff war, the NHS could have to pay more for medicines, another expert has said. The warnings come after health secretary Wes Streeting said UK medicines supplies could be impacted by the tariffs imposed on trade by President Trump.

Mr Streeting said during an interview on Sky News that there are a “number of factors at play” when it comes to the UK’s supply of medicines, including manufacturing and distribution challenges, and he warned that tariffs pose “another layer of challenge”.

The health secretary was responding after the US president said he was not looking to pause the sweeping tariffs that have plunged global markets into turmoil. Although the US tariffs have so far exempted the pharmaceutical industry, some medical devices and equipment are affected, so UK manufacturers would still be hit by 10 and 20 per cent tariffs when exporting to the US.