The UK and the European Union are being damaged by Britain continuing to be outside the European research scheme Horizon, according to a former chief scientific adviser to the Government.
Sir Patrick Vallance said “we should have joined it yesterday” when asked about his position on the Horizon research programme.
He told the Future of Britain conference, organised by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, that the UK’s continued absence from Horizon was “damaging” both for the country and Brussels.
The UK was excluded from the £85 billion scheme in a tit-for-tat retaliation over post-Brexit trading rules for Northern Ireland in 2020.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who is currently considering a draft deal to restart Horizon membership, is understood to have concerns over the “value for money” of rejoining.
The Conservative Party leader is still considering a UK-based alternative to the collaboration scheme known as Pioneer, Downing Street has confirmed.
But Sir Patrick, who played a central part in the handling of the Covid pandemic by Boris Johnson’s government, said it “isn’t sensible” to build a domestic scheme when a Europe-wide version is “ready for us to join”.
