Boris Johnson has given up on a windfall for the UK of almost £7bn, which would have covered more than a fifth of the “divorce bill” from the EU.

Under the terms of the new withdrawal bill, which passed its second reading in parliament last Tuesday, Britain has abandoned any claim to the accumulated profits from the European Investment Bank (EIB), which is owned by EU nations.

The UK put in €3.5bn to help finance the EIB in 1973, 16.1% of the total at the time. The EIB, which has invested in infrastructure projects including Crossrail and the London “super sewer”, has since built up reserves through retained profits.

At the end of 2018 the UK’s share of the reserves was worth £6.5bn. That is