One of the UK’s leading scientists has said he has seen no evidence that European funding bodies are discriminating against British research projects as a result of the vote to leave the EU.

Royal Society President Sir Venki Ramakrishnan yesterday said Britain’s strength as a centre of scientific excellence was distinct from its EU membership.

The Nobel Prize-winning biologist, who is originally from India, Venki Ramakrishnan y to establish a “streamlined, efficient and rapid” visa system that enables academics from all parts of the world to work in the UK.

His intervention contradicts early reports following the referendum last month that British scholars are being overlooked for research funding.

Sir Venki said he did not believe that leaving the union would deter foreign academics from coming to Britain, which he described as “one of the most tolerant places in the world.”

“The reality is the UK is an incredibly strong science country, and its membership in the EU is only one of many considerations that people take into account when they come here,” he said.