London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

UK ports 'preparing to host EU customs checks'

The shipping industry is drawing up plans for EU border checks in Britain for trade bound for Northern Ireland.
The BBC has learned that freight could be diverted through ports with space for inspections such as Liverpool and Stranraer, despite the government denying checks will be necessary.

Customs staff at the relevant ports could include EU representatives, under the details of the new withdrawal deal.

The government said it has secured a "great new deal."

There is also a proposal for smaller "pop up labs" at ports - mobile testing labs for health checks on food exports.

There has been at least one meeting this month between officials and shippers to discuss suitable ports.

One key issue is the diversion of freight to ports with enough capacity to process the freight traffic and carry out the necessary checks required by the Brexit deal.

The Port of Liverpool has an existing Border Inspection Point for exports outside of the EU. Stranraer could be used to process checks for ships using the nearby Cairnryan port, which has limited space.

Industry figures spoke to the BBC after leaks from within Whitehall clearly listed "facilities for high levels of checks and controls" as one of "a number of challenges" with delivering the PM's Brexit deal by December 2020.

Despite claims by Boris Johnson that there will not be any checks on trade from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, the industry is planning for them on the basis of the detail of the deal secured with the EU in October.

One senior industry figure said that there was an "implicit understanding" that such checks for food products would be in Great Britain, partly because of sensitivities about new infrastructure representing a form of trade barrier within the UK.

The BBC also understands that EU officials suggested that the checks should be in Great Britain, to avoid having to send back foodstuffs not compliant with EU single market rules.

The precise nature of the border checks depends on how aligned the UK remains with the EU, the decisions of the Joint Committee of the EU and the UK to be set up after Brexit, and whether UK authorities are willing to accept security and revenue risks in order to keep trade flowing. Technology could also help alleviate some of the checks.

Paperwork and some checks will be required for agrifood imports into Northern Ireland from Great Britain, on the regulatory compliance of goods with the single market, and for trade tariffs for goods deemed to be at risk of being taken to the Republic of Ireland.

Goods remaining in Northern Ireland should have their tariffs repaid by the UK government, but a system for this is yet to be implemented.

The prime minister has also argued that only goods destined for the EU would face checks, but the industry says even verifying that would mean checking some intra-UK trade.

Both the leaked memo from DExEU - the Department for Exiting the European Union - and a similar Treasury note last week confirm scepticism that the necessary changes to infrastructure are possible within the PM's self-imposed deadline of December 2020.

The leaked DExEU memo suggests that work would have to start before negotiations on a future deal finish.

"The Prime Minister has been clear that the great new deal he has struck will not introduce new checks between Northern Ireland and Great Britain," the Conservative Party said in an email.

"We have struck a great new deal which will take the whole UK - including Northern Ireland - out of the EU and the EU's Customs Union. As we leave we will strengthen our union and ensure all parts of our country benefit from the opportunities that Brexit offers."
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×