UK will resist ‘artificial borders’ on science, says diplomat

A senior British diplomat in Germany has said that the UK does not want to limit scientific progress by putting up “artificial borders” with Europe after Brexit.

Robbie Bulloch, deputy head of mission at the British embassy in Berlin, was speaking as leading research-intensive universities from the UK and Germany signed a joint declaration calling on their respective governments to facilitate research and education collaboration after Brexit.

The declaration, signed by the Russell Group and Germany’s U15 group of universities, comes as the UK’s parliament prepares to vote on the Brexit deal agreed between prime minister Theresa May and the European Union. If, as is widely expected, the deal is defeated in the 15 January vote, planning for post-Brexit relations between the UK and EU will be plunged into further uncertainty.