Britain’s new £200 million polar research vessel is unlikely to be christened RRS Boaty McBoatface, despite the name being voted the runaway winner in a public poll.

In a bid to publicise the creation of Britain’s largest and most advanced research ship, the Natural Environment Research Council asked the public to vote on a name for the state-of-the-art vessel, challenging people to come up with an “inspirational” title.

But when the internet poll closed yesterday, Boaty McBoatface was streets ahead, with 124,000 votes, more than four times that of its nearest rival, Poppy-Mai.