For anyone who thought Brexit was done in 2020, the early signs are that it will, once virus woes settle, become Boris Johnson’s biggest headache. Again.

It’s not a great sign when a formerly pro-Brexit lobby is suddenly furious about a part of the deal that was billed as a triumph. "The key is we’ve got our fish back and they’re now British fish and they are better and happier for it,” arch-Brexiter Jacob Rees-Mogg told a near-empty Parliament last week. Whether or not the fish are happier is unproven, but fishers, as the largely family-owned businesses that catch them are called, surely are not.

Scottish and some English fishing businesses staged a dramatic show of anger earlier this week over the increased costs of doing business. The problem isn’t so much the complex terms of the new quota sharing arrangements, but the red tape that threatens to ruin businesses that have been in operation for generations. Exporters of animals and animal products must submit Export Health Certificates (EHCs) and also Catch Certificates, which are issued by vets and environmental health officials. Demand for EHCs has outstripped supply and many businesses are struggling with confusing paperwork or IT problems.