FRANCE closed its border to the UK over the first new strain of coronavirus this week. It was swift and there was nothing Britain could do. A second new strain of the virus had arrived by the time final negotiations over the post-Brexit trade deal were being acted out and, while the finality of the EU’s locked borders was not Brexit-related, it appeared as a kind of dark harbinger. The impact on Scottish food producers who export fresh and perishable goods such as seafood and salmon has been “absolutely disastrous” leading to a “black Christmas” for many, said David Thomson of the Food and Drink Federation Scotland.