Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister MP:-
“The £190m extravagant spend on Irish Sea border posts at Northern Ireland’s ports was said to be to facilitate the SPS checks demanded by the Protocol/Windsor Framework.
“On 19 May 2025 HMG proclaimed a new deal with the EU which would remove SPS checks. Hence, the logic of such a boast is that the border posts would not be needed!
“Accordingly, I tabled this Parliamentary Question to the relevant minister:
Jim Allister: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what function will the border posts being built at Northern Ireland’s ports now perform in light of the UK-EU deal.
(Citation: HC Deb, 2 June 2025, cW)
“The answer, far from confirming redundancy for the border posts, reveals there is actually no deal to this effect. Instead what the government is now saying is that all depends on “the final shape of the deal”. So much for the boasts of a breakthrough deal.
“It is clearly not much of a deal if the border posts stay! That is the litmus test.
“Once more, I suspect, we are in the realms of smoke and mirrors when it comes to proclaimed deals with the EU and any expectation of Brussels loosening its grip.”
Nick Thomas-SymondsThe Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
This will depend on the final shape of a deal, however, the Government is clear that its priority is to reduce barriers to trade and red tape at the border.