Billions of pounds of taxpayers' money has been spent on post-Brexit border checks that are set to be scrapped under Andy Burnham's 'reset' deal with the EU.
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that → spend → EU
The Prime Minister is poised to sign off on a series of agreements at a Brussels summit later this month as part of Labour's bid for closer ties with the bloc.
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Minister → poise → bloc
The centrepiece of Mr Burnham's 'reset' is expected to be a sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) deal, under which the UK will follow EU rules on food and drink.
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UK → expect → food
It will remove the need for controls on food and agricultural goods crossing the Channel and the Irish Sea.
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It → remove → Channel
This is despite the UK having spent an estimated £4.7billion on managing the passage of goods across the border following the country's exit from the EU.
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UK → spend → EU
The boss of Britain's second-largest cross-Channel port is now demanding compensation over a £23million border facility that could be left useless by Labour's deal.
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that → demand → deal
Mr Burnham this week vowed to seize his Brexit 'reset' package 'with both hands' when he meets with EU leaders in Brussels on 20 November.
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he → vow → November
Ahead of a UK-EU summit, a 200-page draft text for an SPS agreement is being shared among the bloc's member states.
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text → share → states
Billions of pounds of taxpayers' money has been spent on post-Brexit border checks that are set to be scrapped under Andy Burnham's 'reset' deal with the EU.
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that → spend → EU
Mike Sellers, the boss of Portsmouth International Port, has demanded compensation for its spending on a new £23million border control post in preparation for post-Brexit checks
Draft deals on emissions trading and a 'youth experience scheme' are also being circulated, alongside a 15-page joint statement for EU leaders.
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deals → demand → leaders
But concerns are growing about the price Mr Burnham is willing to pay in his attempt to move back closer to Brussels a decade on from the EU referendum.
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Burnham → grow → referendum
Brexiteers have warned against leaving Britain as a 'rule-taker' by again aligning with EU regulations, as fears grow that the PM will 'surrender' the country's Brexit freedoms.
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PM → warn → freedoms
Mr Burnham's push to remove post-Brexit border checks comes despite the UK having ploughed vast resources in recent years into managing trade frictions with the EU.
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UK → remove → EU
A National Audit Office report, published in May 2024, found that £4.7billion was being spent on 13 major programmes to manage the passage of goods across the border following the UK's exit from the EU.
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4.7billion → publish → EU
Thousands more civil servants have also been recruited to Whitehall departments, such as the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, to deal with Brexit.
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servants → recruit → Brexit
Mike Sellers, the boss of Portsmouth International Port, has demanded compensation for its spending on a new £23million border control post in preparation for post-Brexit checks.
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Sellers → demand → checks
He told the BBC: 'We built something that took two acres of our land - operational land that had to carry out, on average, 80 trailer checks a day - and by the time that the operating model that the government settled on in 2024, that went down to an average of two checks a day.
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that → tell → checks
'So it's never ever been used for the scale that it was built for.'
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it → use → that
Mr Sellers said it now looked likely the border control post would no longer be needed as a result of Labour's SPS deal, which is expected to come into force in spring 2028.
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which → say → spring
He added: 'So 100 per cent we need compensation for the amount of money that's been put into this.'
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that → add → this
Steve Pitt, the Liberal Democrat leader of Portsmouth City Council, confirmed the local authority would seek to recover the £6million it also ploughed into the project.
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it → confirm → project
'We welcome the news this means for consumers, reducing red-tape and delays at the borders for businesses,' he said.
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he → welcome → businesses
'However, this specialist facility cost over £23million to build and, if there isn't a need for inspections to take place, we may have to consider demolishing a building that is less than four years old.'
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that → cost → building
Anand Menon, a professor of politics at King's College London and the director of the UK in a Changing Europe think tank, outlined the costs to both businesses and the Government over 'ever-changing' post-Brexit rules.
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Menon → change → rules
'There is more than a touch of the grand old Duke of York to all this,' he told The Times.
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he → be → Times
'Ever since the referendum the government has spent billions of pounds preparing the UK for Britain's new trading relationship with Europe and helping businesses adapt.
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businesses → spend → Europe
Businesses as well are spending money and time adapting to ever-changing regulations.'
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Businesses → spend → regulations
A Government source said: 'The Tory Brexit deal was bad for business and bad for the country, leaving piles of red tape and extra costs.
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deal → say → tape
That's why we're securing a better deal that will tear down barriers to trade and back British business and jobs.'
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that → secure → business
The Aporia
