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Government ministers describe the post-Brexit headaches that British exporters have suffered since 1 January as mere “teething problems”.

However Alex Paul, who jointly runs a successful family business that features in the Department for International Trade’s list of national “export champions”, disagrees. And he wants the real story to be told.

Two weeks into the supposed golden era of global Britain, Paul and many other British entrepreneurs, large and small, are running into very serious problems.

UK fish exporters are unable to sell into European markets because of delays at borders and complain that Boris Johnson and others misled them about Brexit. Leading supermarket chains are warning ministers of food shortages in Northern Ireland because of new border rules and bureaucracy. And small UK companies such as Paul’s, which thrived as part of the EU single market, are saying they may have no future at all in exporting into continental

A large London plumbing firm plans to rewrite all of its workers’ contracts to require them to be vaccinated against coronavirus.

Pimlico Plumbers chairman Charlie Mullins said it was “a no-brainer” that workers should get the jab.

If they do not want to comply with the policy, it will be decided on a case-by-case basis whether they are kept on, he said.

Employment lawyers said the plan carried risks for the business.

The NHS is seeking to vaccinate 15 million people from priority groups by mid-February as part of efforts to try to control the spread of Covid-19.

But, Business Matters columnist Mullins, said he was prepared to pay for private immunisations for people at the firm, should they become available, which would be done on the company’s time.

Doctors have warned that key hospital services in England are in crisis, with reports of hospitals cancelling urgent operations after