Boris Johnson has been accused of misunderstanding his own Brexit deal after he told businesses in Northern Ireland to “throw in the bin,” the customs forms the government has previously said will be required when exporting to the rest of the UK.
The Brexit secretary, Stephen Barclay, told the House of Lords last month that businesses would need to complete “exit summary declarations” when sending shipments from Northern Ireland to the rest of the UK.
But in answer to a question on Thursday night from an exporter in Northern Ireland about whether his business would have to complete such forms, Johnson said: “You will absolutely not.”
He recommended that if any business is asked to fill in such paperwork, they should telephone the prime minister, “and I will direct them to throw that form in the bin”.
Answering questions after a rambling speech that was captured on video and went viral, the PM said: “There will be no forms, no checks, no barriers of any kind: you will have unfettered access.”
The shadow Brexit secretary, Keir Starmer, said: “This is a prime minister who either doesn’t know the details of the deal he has negotiated or isn’t being straight about it.
“If this deal comes into force, it’s an international treaty that will be legally binding. It’s not for Boris Johnson to waive or ignore the obligations in the deal he has negotiated. Boris Johnson’s making it up as he goes along. This is no way to seek to run the country.”
Why is a barrier in the Irish Sea being discussed?
In agreeing a deal to guarantee the Irish border remains invisible, with no checks fuelling inter-community tensions, the UK is moving the border to the Irish Sea.
If all goods entering the island of Ireland are checked before arrival for standards and tariffs, then cross-border trade can continue to flow unimpeded.
It will also protect the single market and reduce the chance of suspect goods making their way to the continent via Northern Ireland and the republic.
How much trade goes from Great Britain to Northern Ireland?
Around 450,000 trailers arrive in Northern Ireland every year, transporting everything from cars to soft cheese to school shirts.
Trade and services purchased from Great Britain were valued at £13.4bn according to the latest data, £11bn of that representing goods.
About 70% of goods purchased by Northern Irish businesses from Great Britain are destined for the high street and are largely food to Tesco, Sainsbury’s and other supermarkets, clothing and white goods, cars and motorbikes.
Who will the new Brexit terms impact?
All companies moving goods to Northern Ireland. Business representatives believe the big companies such as supermarket chains will be able to put systems in place to deal with any checks but will be looking for government assistance to help smaller businesses.
The extent and type of checks will not be clear until the detail of the deal emerges, but essentially they fall into two categories: tariffs and VAT. Excise duties also apply but will not trouble most importers as they generally apply to a limited amount of controlled goods including alcohol, cigarettes and fuel.
Customs declarations apply for both exports and imports and, although the trade is domestic, for the purposes of this version of a Brexit backstop, the checks will be made on behalf of the EU. It is concerned about goods from a third country leaking into Ireland and therefore the single market.
Will there be a border through the Irish Sea immediately if parliament votes for a deal?
No. The discussion over the Irish border is part of Boris Johnson’s alternative arrangements to the controversial backstop. It will only be triggered if the UK and EU do not seal their main trade deal before the end of the transition period.
Lisa O’Carroll Brexit correspondent
The government has repeatedly insisted that while the Brexit deal involves a new customs border down the Irish Sea, it will not require shipments of goods to be stopped and physically checked – a point made again by Johnson in Northern Ireland.
The issue goes to the heart of the collapse of the government’s relations with the Democratic Unionist party, which has described the Brexit deal as a “disgrace” and a “betrayal” because of the new customs paperwork local businesses selling goods to Great Britain will be required to complete.
On a visit to a Tayto crisp factory in Tandragee, County Armagh, on Thursday, Johnson insisted his critics had got the wrong end of the stick.
“There will not be checks, and I speak as the prime minister of the United Kingdom, and a passionate unionist. There will not be checks on goods going from Northern Ireland to Great Britain because we’re the government of the United Kingdom and we will not institute or implement or enact such checks,” he said.
“The idea that Tayto crisps from Tandragee are going to be vetted by some process is just nonsense.”
His remarks were met with incredulity as the video of his speech went viral overnight.
While there are no physical checks involved in the special Northern Ireland arrangements, apart from anti-smuggling controls led by intelligence, the new paperwork that must accompany transiting goods is being seen by critics including the DUP as the erection of a trade barrier between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.
Anna Jerzewska, a customs expert, pointed out the customs controls were in the Brexit deal to facilitate the international trade agreements Johnson wants while keeping the Irish border open.
The checks and new paperwork would be needed to ensure goods from the Republic of Ireland were not smuggled into Britain through Northern Ireland.
Dr Anna Jerzewska
(@AnnaJerzewska)But if we want to sign trade deals our trade partners will want to know which goods come from NI and which from ROI and we need to find a way to collect this info.
EU FTA partners will want to ensure goods come from the EU and not GB
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Jonathan Portes, a professor of economics and public policy at King’s College London, said Johnson’s remarks showed he did not understand his own Brexit deal.
Jonathan Portes
(@jdportes)Seems entirely clear that the Prime Minister does not understand his own Brexit proposal (for a hard border in the Irish Sea) *at all*. https://t.co/ftKEisvqzA
The DUP has said the new paperwork is an unacceptable breach of the promise there would be “unfettered” access to Great Britain for manufacturers in Northern Ireland.
The paperwork would be part of a special arrangement in which Northern Ireland would remain in the UK customs territory but follow EU customs codes on some goods transiting into Great Britain.
Johnson and his ministers have struggled to explain what this paperwork is despite being pressed several times during heated exchanges in parliament and select committees in October. Johnson has previously said businesses should not be worried because it involved merely “administrative processes”, rather than physical checks.
Local business groups have called for an urgent working group to establish what the paperwork is precisely but have said they believe a deal can be hammered out to ensure it is minimal.
Johnson told businesses on Thursday night: “Actually, Northern Ireland has got a great deal. You keep free movement, you keep access to the single market and, as it says in the deal, [you keep] unfettered access to the UK.”
The prime minister also criticised the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, over the possibility of referendums on Scottish independence and EU withdrawal.
“Another turgid, torpid, toxic, appalling EU referendum, which is the last thing we need,” he said.
Johnson reiterated his dedication to the union and said he had “really good relations” with the DUP leadership.
