BARROW should be proud of the secret role it played in the development of the live-saving Covid-19 vaccine, the health secretary has said.

Matt Hancock revealed that Whitehall bosses kept Covid vaccine secrets safe by assigning them codenames of submarines built by the hands of Barrow workers.

He said that the jabs had secret codenames to ensure commercial confidentiality was protected during government discussions.

The Pfizer jab was named after HMS Ambush and the Oxford/AstraZeneca got its name from HMS Triumph.

The jab's proper titles were only revealed after they had been approved, Mr Hancock said.

Speaking in the Commons, Barrow MP Simon Fell thanked Mr Hancock for the choice of names.

In response the health secretary said: "Success has many fathers, and I am sure that the people of Barrow are very proud of their role in making sure that we could keep what needed to be kept confidential confidential.

"We have now had to change all those names, because everybody knows about it."

Speaking after learning of Barrow's role in the vaccine development process, Mr Fell said: "It's a surprising and really lovely thing to discover.

"Barrow built subs have been keeping the nation safe for decades so it is apt that the vaccines that are keeping us safe now were codenamed for them."

Lord Walney, formerly Barrow MP John Woodcock, also praised the comparison.

"The comparison was apt and it was great to see Barrow's prowess being recognised in this way," he said.

"The vaccine programme was aiming to be the very pinnacle of scientific achievement and many lives depended on it succeeding - just like Barrow's submarines."

Built at the Vickers shipyard, Trafalgar-class submarine HMS Triumph was launched in 1991.

It was used in the war in Afghanistan and Operation Ellamy in Libya.

In 1993 the boat sailed to Australia, travelling 41,000 miles unsupported – the longest solo deployment ever completed by a Royal Navy submarine.

HMS Ambush, the second boat of the Astute-class, was named in 2010 and launched in 2011.

According to the Navy, the submarine is capable of circumnavigating the globe without surfacing due to its sophisticated onboard nuclear reactor.

Matt Hancock confirmed the codenames in an interview with BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg, saying the 'Triumph' tag for the UK-developed vaccine was 'fitting'.

NHS data shows 27,562 people in Barrow had received their first dose of a Covid vaccine by March 14.