Brexit controls on UK imports could be delayed amid fears nation won’t be ready

Brexit controls on UK imports from the EU could be delayed amid fears the nation will not be ready for the wave of red tape.

Reports today claim the July 1 date for introducing full import controls on goods entering the UK from Europe is now under review.

Cabinet minister for Brexit Lord Frost has begun “a review of the timetable to ensure that we are not imposing unnecessary burdens on business”, a No10 source told the Observer.

The source told the newspaper it was “early in the process and no decisions have been made”.

A government source told the Mirror it was “complete nonsense” that food could run short, but admitted the industry “is suffering because of Covid as much as Brexit.” They stressed it was still early days.

While the EU began full customs and single market controls on goods travelling from the UK on January 1, Britain delayed many of its checks on goods coming the other way for six months to ensure a smoother transition.

But UK firms have already suffered due to the red tape needed to export to the Continent.

The Freight Transport Association and some in UK ports had warned systems may not be fully up and running in time.

It comes after the UK unilaterally extended grace periods for sending goods from Britain to Northern Ireland.

Rules allowing supermarket goods to travel across the Irish Sea had been due to expire on April 1 but could not last until October.