Not practical to completely shut Britain's borders - PM Johnson

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday it was not practical to completely close Britain's borders as a defence against new strains of the coronavirus.

"It is not practical (to) completely close off this country...What is practical to do is have one of the toughest regimes in the world and to get on with vaccinating the people of this country, which is what we are doing," Johnson told Parliament.

He said that 75% of Britain's medicines come from Europe as does 45% of its food, while 250,000 British businesses rely on imports.

(Reporting by Sarah Young, writing by James Davey; Editing by Kate Holton)