Brexit: Government admits for first time there will be checks on goods crossing Irish Sea

Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The government has admitted there will be checks on goods crossing the Irish Sea after the Brexit transition period – despite Boris Johnson’s promises there would be no such barriers. A Cabinet Office spokesperson claimed the UK government had always been clear there would be “requirements for live animals and agri-food” at ports like Larne and Belfast. It now seems Johnson was deeply dishonest with businesses when he previously asserted there would be no checks and businesses could put paperwork ‘in the bin’.” Naomi Smith – chief executive of the Best for Britain group campaigning for close alignment with the EU – said the government had made “clear commitments” that there would be no checks on goods crossing the Irish Sea. “By now acknowledging these checks will take place, the government is recognising the challenges it faces to uphold the Northern Ireland protocol are far more complex than they first admitted,” said Ms Smith.