Criminals ‘will exploit’ UK borders in no-deal scenario

ORGANISED criminals will be free to exploit “weaknesses” and “gaps” in the UK’S border if Britain leaves the EU without a deal, the National Audit Office (NAO) has warned.

In a report published today, the NAO concludes that most of the systems required to make the UK’S new border regime work are not yet functioning and will not be ready in the case of a no-deal outcome.

This will result in “security weaknesses”, the report found, warning ministers “urgently” to address the gaps or risk the threat of organised crime groups and others using the confusion to their advantage.

The report warned that ministers faced a race against time to get critical IT and customs systems ready in time for leaving the union.

It also raised concerns about whether the Border Force will be able to recruit enough staff to manage the border in time.

Sir Amyas Morse, the head of the NAO, said: “The Government has openly accepted the border will be sub-optimal if there is no deal with the EU on March 29 2019.

“It is not clear what sub-optimal means in practice. But what is clear is that businesses and individuals who are reliant on the border running smoothly will pay the price.”

Warning of the risk if the border is not ready when the UK leaves the EU and particularly in the face of a no-deal scenario, the report states: “Government assumptions that the risks will not change materially on day one is reasonable in the short-term but organised criminals and others are likely to be quick to exploit any perceived weaknesses or gaps in the regime.

“This, combined with the UK’S potential loss of access to EU security, law enforcement and criminal justice tools, could create security weaknesses.”