EU in U-turn over move to control vaccine exports to Northern Ireland

European commission cites error' hours after proposal caused anger on both sides of Irish border

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Brussels has been forced into a humiliating U-turn in the face of outrage in London and Dublin after seeking to trigger a Brexit deal clause to establish border controls on vaccine doses moving into Northern Ireland from the Republic.

The European commission was forced to backtrack on its plan to effectively erect a vaccine border on the island of Ireland after both Boris Johnson and the Irish taoiseach, Micheal Martin, spoke personally to its president, Ursula von der Leyen.