The book describes how by adopting venture capitalist-style development contract writing and risk management and by making Britain especially attractive for vaccine trials (the NHS Registry was crucial here), Britain was able to steal a march on the US and the lumbering EU Commission in securing under contract the necessary production facilities. Bingham and Hames’s accessible, edge-of-the-seat account of how British innovators vaccinated the UK and much of the rest of the world is also a quiet, compelling, non-partisan argument for dialogue between business and politics. I understand why she did this as the reason the vaccine task force succeeded was because Bingham created a high-performance team and she had to describe how this was done as such teams do not materialise of their own accord.

When we get past the introductory chapters, we get a really good insight into how by adopting a venture capitalist business type approach with a clear focus on outputs - in contrast to the Civil Service's focus on process – the vaccine task force was a success. From a cottage miles away from Westminster, Bingham juggled vaccine suppliers, Whitehall, the media circus – and her daughter’s exams.

You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. The tragic and magic is all told in a thrilling uplifting and yet ultimately depressing (the government couldn't care less about preparing for the next pandemic) account is simply brilliant.

Catapulted into a national crisis, Bingham’s eclectic team secured the first vaccine doses administered in the West and saved thousands of lives in the UK as new variants struck.Finally, Bingham finishes off the book with reflections on working with government and the issues that hold Government back from delivering on service and projects.