Britain has said restrictions on the export of Covid-19 vaccines could endanger the global fight against the virus, adding that it expected the European Union (EU) to honour commitments it made over its vaccine programme.

“The global recovery from Covid relies on international collaboration. We are all dependent on global supply chains — putting in place restrictions endangers global efforts to fight the virus,” said Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman.

“The PM did speak to [EU] President von der Leyen earlier this year and she confirmed that the focus of their mechanism was on transparency and not intended to restrict export by companies [...] we would expect the EU to continue to stand by its commitments.”