The government risks creating a serious funding gap for science, Labour has warned, saying that delays over budgets and cuts to research are undermining the sector and giving the lie to ministers’ boasts about Britain’s status as a science superpower.

The party has highlighted a continued standoff over post-Brexit funding for collaboration with European scientists via the Horizon research programme, as well as the lack of an agreed budget for the main government science funding scheme, saying the government risked “badly letting down” the sector.