The hi-tech border control post near the waterfront at Portsmouth international port, built to handle post-Brexit checks on goods entering the UK, cost £25 million. However, the building has sat empty and unused for almost a year since its completion, after the UK government announced in April 2022 that the introduction of post-Brexit import checks would be delayed for a fourth time.
Mike Sellers, director of Portsmouth international port: “It is frustrating. Because we’ve built to a design that was specified by the government … So we’ve done what they’ve asked, and we built it in time.”
Physical checks on fresh produce entering the UK from the EU and the rest of the world had been expected to begin on 1 July last year, but they were delayed again in April 2022, amid industry reports that neither the required infrastructure nor technology would have been ready.
Physical checks at the UK border begin on 31 January next year. At that time, the border control posts at places such as Portsmouth will finally spring into action, albeit conducting fewer checks than originally anticipated.
Source: theguardian.com
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