Students from EU countries who come to study in the UK will reportedly be asked to pay more than £1,000 for access to the NHS.  

Although European students are entitled to have the sum refunded – so long as they have a European Health Insurance Cards (Ehic) – they won’t be able to claim it back as a refund for over a year or more, according to the i newspaper.

Lib Dem MP Daisy Cooper – who has written to home secretary Priti Patel about the issue – branded it a “pointless red tape nightmare”. She added: “It just means extra paperwork and costs for both students and the Home Office.”

Boris Johnson appealed for the world to avoid restrictions to vaccine movements across borders, as an escalating row between the EU and drugs giant AstraZeneca threatens supplies of the Covid jab.

The latest developments has seen AstraZeneca’s chief executive Pascal Soriot confirm that the UK would have first claim on vaccines produced by the company in Britain – telling Italian newspaper La Repubblica that glitches in EU supply were the result of Brussels taking three months longer than London to seal a deal.

It comes as Germany presses the European Commission to give member states new powers to block exports of vaccines outside of the bloc, according to the FT.

Home secretary Priti Patel is all set to announce a hotel quarantine plan for arrivals from the highest-risk parts of the world in the Commons today.

It is expected to be limited to the 30 countries currently covered by the strictest travel restrictions – but Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates could also be added because of the risk from the new variant, according to The Telegraph.

Labour wants hotel quarantines to apply to all arrivals. “We need much stronger defences at our borders,” said Keir Starmer.

Ironically, Patel is thought to share the same view – but apparently she didn’t get her way at last night’s Covid-O meeting.

Amazon has reportedly halted sales of wines, beers and spirits in Northern Ireland – and is thought to be preparing to de-list more products due to new Brexit customs rules.

The online retailer is concerned that excise duty will now have to be paid twice on shipments of alcohol which are sent from the British mainland across the Irish Sea to Northern Ireland, ITV News reported.

Industry sources told the broadcaster that Amazon is considering delisting a large number of other products to Northern Irish customers – including some over-the-counter medicines – before the end of March.  

The government has insisted there was no reason for businesses not to send goods to Northern Ireland. “These goods will not be taxed twice, and we will issue new guidance clarifying the position to ensure any remaining issues are addressed,” a spokesman said.