UK spent £100m on zombie Brexit border inspection posts

The UK spent at least £100m building Brexit border inspection facilities that were never fully used, after the government scaled back plans for checks on goods arriving from the EU. The spending highlights the cost of changing policy and poor preparation for new border arrangements.

Five of seven facilities in England and Wales never became operational. Portsmouth’s £23m post was used below full capacity, while Guston’s planned Dover facility cost £28m despite remaining a field. Other sites in Birmingham, Warrington, Ebbsfleet and North Weald incurred construction, preparation or closure costs; Portsmouth’s city council also covered a £6m funding shortfall.