‘Trade tariffs would lead to smuggling’

Any attempt by the Irish government to impose tariffs on trade with the UK after Brexit would lead to an upsurge in smuggling at the border with Northern Ireland, former Stormont first minister Lord Trimble has warned.

The Conservative peer said a rise in smuggling would have the “delightful” side-effect of diverting criminal elements away from paramilitary activity. But he said the better solution would be the removal or reduction of tariffs across the whole British Isles.

But Labour MP Ian Murray said Lord Trimble was wrong about “basic facts” and called his description a shocking misjudgment.”