Danish fishermen fear the worst and Mr Rasmussen has promised to make equal access to UK fishing waters a “high priority” in his country’s negotiating plans.

However, it is no only staff counting the potential costs of Brexit. Europe’s drug watchdog is bracing itself for higher-than-anticipated staff departures due its headquarters being moved to Amsterdam.

The European Medicines Agency could lose over 19 percent of its workforce because of labour laws on short-term contracts. This is higher than predicted by executive director Guido Rasi, who made the estimate during an interview in the agency’s current London home last year.