Post-Brexit UK border food checks delayed again on inflation fears

UK ministers are set to announce a further delay to post-Brexit border controls on animal and plant products coming from the EU, amid fears that extra bureaucracy on imported goods will fuel inflation.

The decision to delay the new import regime at Britain’s ports, which had been due to start in October, is also intended to give companies and port operators yet more time to implement the arrangements.

The news comes ahead of a meeting of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee on Thursday, which is wrestling with persistently high inflation.

There have been repeated delays to the introduction of a post-Brexit border control regime for goods entering the UK from the EU. British exports to the EU are already subject to full checks.