Border rules to aid ‘our new global identity’
MICHAEL Gove has promised that post-Brexit customs checks coming into force at the end of the year will help prepare Britain to “embrace a new global identity”.
The Cabinet Office Minister yesterday unveiled details of the border rules that will govern exports and imports between the UK and the EU after we leave the bloc’s customs union on December 31.
Up to 12 new inland border check sites, including around five in Kent, will be set up to stop traffic jams.
Whitehall sources indicated the new regime will mean around 400 million more customs declarations a year could be issued by UK border officials. Mr Gove told the
Commons the new system will “help ensure the free flow of trade” between Britain and the continent.
He added in his statement: “It is time for our new start, time for us to embrace a new global destiny.”
A 205-page Government policy document set out the new requirements British firms will face when trading with European partners under a new “border operation model”.
Mr Gove said: “From January 1, 2021, we will embark on the next chapter in our history as a fully independent United Kingdom.
With control of our economy, we can continue to put in place the right measures for Covid recovery.
“With control over the money we sent to Brussels, we can spend it on our priorities, investing in the NHS, spreading opportunity more equally across the UK and strengthening our union.”
Mr Gove said this will “herald changes and significant opportunities”, which everyone will need to prepare for. He confirmed that £705million will be spent on new border infrastructure.
But Labour’s shadow cabinet office minister Rachel Reeves claimed the Government’s plans were mired in “chaos, complacency and confusion”.
She said: “It is vital businesses and jobs are supported and that the oven-ready deal the country was promised is delivered upon this year.
“Yet, frankly, many of us are worried about whether the oven was even turned on.”
She added: “The Labour Party wants to see British firms exporting, we do not want to see goods stuck at ports or lorry parks.” Boris
Johnson urged everyone to “get ready” for the end of the Brexit transition.
The PM, asked if the border changes could push up costs for holidaymakers and firms, replied: “The past few months, the whole Covid crisis, has put all those questions into perspective.
“I never have thought the so-called project fear with Brexit would materialise in the way some did. There are big opportunities for this country to do things differently and do things better.”
Tim Reardon, head of EU exit at the Port of Dover, said: “They’ve taken onboard the key principles that they need to get the processes moved away from the border.”