Chris Green, MP for Bolton West and Atherton, says he is "cautiously optimistic" about the approved coronavirus vaccine, wanting to see it work in practice first.

A Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer/BioNTech was approved by British regulatory agency on Wednesday, paving the way for mass vaccinations to start as early as next week.

He told Talk Radio: "I think we ought to have cautious optimism, if you're a salesman or into marketing you'll be celebrating from the rooftops because something amazing has happened.

"Perhaps if you're a scientist or doctor you'll be a little bit more sceptical thinking have I seen this operate in practice, do I know I can share that optimism and positivity with my patients or the people who depend upon it.

"I, by instinct as a former engineer, don't take the salesman approach of everything now is right and this is the product we can all believe in. I take a more sceptical approach and I want to see it work in practice and I want to see the data that proves it."