UK set to snub EU's £88bn science program over Brexit row

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Rishi Sunak's new science minister has signaled that the UK is 'ready to go it alone' if the EU does not agree to EU membership terms Britain after Brexit.

< p>Michelle Donelanm, the new secretary of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, has said she is ready to snub the flagship research program from the EU of £88.6 billion and create an alliance with the United States, Japan and Switzerland.

< p>Writing in The Telegraph, Ms Donelan acknowledged that the science sector was eager to hear about the UK's association with the EU's Horizon programme, but if the partnership could not materialise, she said "we are more than ready to go it alone ".

The Government's Deputy Science Minister, George Freeman, has previously accused the European Commission of refusing to commit accession talks, saying Brussels was blocking Britain's demands because of the row over the Northern Ireland protocol.

Eight months on and with pro progress still stalled, Ms Donelan said she would "not sit idly by while our researchers are sidelined".

"If we can't partner up, we're more than ready to go it alone." alone with our own globally-minded alternative, working with scientific powerhouses such as the United States, Switzerland and Japan to offer international scientific collaborations,” she wrote.

“ The wait time is quickly coming to an end and I will not hesitate to step down on my own,” she added.

It comes amid growing speculation that a deal is on the cards. cards to reduce bureaucracy on trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

On Friday the Government and the EU reiterated their commitment to finding "common solutions" to the differences over the Northern Ireland Protocol which was agreed in 2019 as a way to break the deadlock on reaching a Brexit withdrawal agreement .

EU negotiator Maros Sefcovic said the talks had been "well invested in time" - prompting optimism that a deal is now within reach. 'to be concluded.

< p>Ms Donelan's 'ready to go it alone' announcement is the first policy to emerge from the new science department which was set up by the Prime Minister earlier this week during a cabinet reshuffle.

Many British scientists hailed the new ministry after calling for one for several years, saying the announcement put science at the heart of government.

However, President of the Royal Society...