Billions squandered on post-Brexit food checks as red tape finally faces axe

The article says billions of pounds spent preparing for post-Brexit food and border checks may be wasted if a proposed UK-EU food deal removes many of those controls. The deal is expected after a UK-EU summit later this month, with the Prime Minister arguing that closer alignment with EU food rules could add up to 0.4 per cent to GDP.

The National Audit Office estimates £4.7 billion was spent on 13 border-related projects over seven years, including customs systems and food checks. The article cites around £800 million for sanitary and phytosanitary infrastructure, £750 million over three years for the Windsor framework, and hundreds of millions for exporters; Defra also hired 3,000 additional staff. Portsmouth’s port built a facility with £17 million in government funding and £6 million from the council, but checks fell from an expected 80 trailers a day to about two.