UK government's £25m border control post remains empty and unused a year after construction

However, the post has sat empty and unused for almost a year due to government delays in implementing import checks.

The local council is now facing an estimated £10m bill for maintenance and other costs.

The government's new post-Brexit border strategy, known as the target operating model (TOM), proposes lighter-touch checks on certain imports and will begin phasing in import checks in three stages, starting this autumn.

The TOM proposes that the border control post at Portsmouth will finally spring into action, albeit conducting fewer checks than originally anticipated.

The building was designed to receive low- and high-risk goods and allow their inspection in air-lock quarantine zones to prevent cross-contamination.

The UK's new border strategy, the Target Operating Model (TOM), has cost Portsmouth city council £5.4 million and is estimated to have cost an additional £500,000 due to high electricity prices.

The TOM will not prevent all delays, and importers will have to pay for goods checks, with the cost still unknown.

The new border plan has been met with mixed reactions, with some welcoming it and others warning of the potential impact on the food sector.