Dominic Raab, UK foreign secretary, has insisted that the EU’s ambassador to London should be seen as representing an “international organisation”, rather than being treated on the same diplomatic basis as a national ambassador.

London has insisted that the rights and privileges of the two statuses are similar, but the EU has said that Britain is out of step with the rest of world in refusing full diplomatic credentials to its ambassador, João Vale de Almeida.

The cancelling of the meeting is the first real retaliation by Brussels against the UK over the snub, which has cast a shadow over the early weeks of the post-Brexit relationship.

The step comes as a new source of potential tension has opened up between the two sides with Brussels insisting on Wednesday that it should be entitled to a share of Covid-19 vaccines made by AstraZeneca in the UK.

“Since our EU ambassador is getting a different treatment from his peers in the UK we need political clarification from London before setting up meetings with officials here,” said one EU official.