The Government has accused EU chief Charles Michel of spreading falsehoods after he claimed the UK imposed an “outright ban” on coronavirus vaccine exports.

The European Council President accused Britain and the US of imposing bans on the movement of jabs as he sought to defend the bloc against allegations of “vaccine nationalism”.

In the latest display of post-Brexit turbulence, the Government struck back to refute his comments and insist the UK has “not blocked the export of a single Covid-19 vaccine”.

Mr Michel, in a newsletter on Tuesday, said he was “shocked” when he heard allegations of vaccine nationalism levelled at the EU, saying: “The facts do not lie.”

He added: “The United Kingdom and the United States have imposed an outright ban on the export of vaccines or vaccine components produced on their territory.

“But the European Union, the region with the largest vaccine production capacity in the world, has simply put in place a system for controlling the export of doses produced in the EU.”

The Government flatly denied his claims.

A spokesman said: “The UK Government has not blocked the export of a single Covid-19 vaccine. Any references to a UK export ban or any restrictions on vaccines are completely false.

“This pandemic is a global challenge and international collaboration on vaccine development continues to be an integral part of our response.”

In January, the EU briefly attempted to trigger Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement to impose controls on vaccines.

But it swiftly backtracked after coming in for widespread criticism over the move, which came as it faced significant pressure over delays to the rollout of its vaccination programme.