Independence ‘will mean checkpoints at the Border’

AN independent Scotland would face customs checkpoints on the Border, UK Government sources have warned.

Nicola Sturgeon is planning yet another independence referendum Bill and wants a separate Scotland to rejoin the EU.

However, a UK Government insider has warned it would then be impossible to stay in a customs union with the rest of the UK.

That would require customs checks, delays for individuals and huge costs to businesses and the wider economy.

The rest of the UK is Scotland’s biggest trading partner, with exports worth £51.2 billion in 2018 – more than four times higher than to all 27 EU member states combined.

Last night, the source said: ‘People know separation is not sensible during a pandemic. They’re worried about the economy, and jobs, worried about people’s health.

‘With the UK outside the EU, it’s a very different question about how a separate Scotland would be able to have seamless trade. Would it seek to have a customs union? It could not do so as an EU member state. It would be impossible. Would it have rules of origin customs checks?’

The insider added: ‘People want to see joint working on joint problems.’

In The Scottish Mail on Sunday today, Scottish Secretary Alister Jack reiterates that the SNP must keep its promise that the 2014 referendum was a ‘once in a generation’ vote, suggesting this could be 25 to 40 years.

An SNP spokesman said: ‘Yesterday, the Tories were claiming they would try to block the will of the Scottish people in a Trump-like denial of democracy. Today they are accepting an independent Scotland in the EU is an inevitability.’