Brexit lunacy is proving costly

Today, checks on food entering the UK from the EU begin. This will see the ludicrous situation of lorries having to travel 22 miles from Dover to border control posts at Sevington, located on the outskirts of Ashford in Kent.

Anyone found to be carrying unsafe or contaminated food could be asked to turn around and drive back again.

The government has not explained how lorries will be monitored between the port and its control post, or how it will ensure goods that have been identified as unsafe leave the country.

The UK, in its determination to “take back control” of its border, has now implemented these checks on goods from the EU, despite relying on the bloc’s border controls to keep UK consumers and animals safe for decades.

It has been estimated that these new controls will cost British businesses £2bn and fuel higher inflation, according to a report by the insurer Allianz Trade

Adding 10 per cent to import costs over the first year, Ministers have also revealed that businesses could be charged up to £145 for each consignment imported through Dover, prompting warnings that this would drive up food prices and disproportionately hurt small businesses.

It almost beggars belief that an advanced country, full of supposedly intelligent, competent people, could have ended up with this farcical solution, foisted on us by those intent on continuing the economic lunacy that is Brexit.

It has been estimated that these new controls will cost British businesses £2bn and fuel higher inflation, according to Allianz Trade

Alex Orr, Edinburgh