The EU’s increasingly nationalist, insular vaccination policy stands in even starker contrast to the UK’s approach this morning, as Britain launches a new drive to support the rest of the world in finding and identifying Covid-19 variants. With Genome sequencing being one of this country’s pandemic success stories – having carried out more than half of the world’s tests for new variants – the Department of Health today launched the “New Variant Assessment Platform” to provide early warning of new mutations that could endanger public health.

Countries who want help “will be offered UK capacity to analyse new strains” and work alongside Public Health England, NHS Test and Trace and academic partners. Not a good day for dogmatic Remainers who want to believe Brexit will bring an end to British internationalism…