Britain faces being thrown out of a Europe-wide network for treating rare diseases — depriving 150,000 UK citizens, two-thirds of them children, of their best hope for treatment.

Six British medical experts, each head of one of the 24 specialisms covered by the European Reference Networks (ERNs), were this month stripped of their leadership roles, in preparation for the UK’s likely departure from the system next March under Brexit.

The ERNs link medical experts across the EU to treat people suffering from diseases whose rarity makes it difficult for any single country to build up specialist treatment centres. Each of the 24 networks covers a specific category such as childhood cancer, inherited liver disease, or babies born with heart conditions.

About 1m patients benefit each