Brexit won’t disrupt Covid vaccine delivery, government says

Transport secretary says treatment will be immune from pressures of no deal

Grant Shapps said much work had been done on ‘border readiness’ (Barcroft Media/Getty)

Disruption caused by Brexit will not delay the delivery of the Covid-19 vaccine to the UK, the transport secretary has said.

Grant Shapps said he could rule out such delays, which are expected to hit ports on 1 January whether or not the UK has signed a deal.

Freight operators have warned of long delays and potential spoilage for time-sensitive products, while the government has introduced "Kent access permits" to regulate the flow of lorries to Dover.

But the transport secretary claimed that the delivery of a potential vaccine would be immune from such pressures.

"Yes I can rule that out," Mr Shapps said on Friday morning, when asked if the vaccine could be delayed due to customs checks when the transition ends.

"First of all we have done an immense amount of work on border readiness.

"We've also signed a freight contract, which is upwards of £100m, to make sure we can get category 1 goods in, which includes things like vaccines.

"So even if there are problems, which we very much hope there won't€™ be, and we plan for there not to be, we have a back up."

The National Audit Office warned this week that the government had not done enough to gets the UK's borders ready for leaving the single market and customs union and that there would be disruption whether or not a trade deal was signed.

But the interruption to trade flows is expected to be even greater if no free trade agreement is signed with the EU. Business would also have to pay tariffs and follow quotas, rendering some unprofitable.

The timing of the economic Brexit at the end of the year could be inconvenient for the government, given it coincides with the winter months during which Covid-19 is still likely to be widespread.