Report: UK ports want compensation if post-Brexit checks on EU goods are eased

According to the well-known business newspaper, the British Port Association (BPA) has written to the Cabinet and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) warning of the significant losses port operators would face if the expensive infrastructure for checking goods was no longer needed.

“Ports should not have to repeatedly incur costs due to changing political winds. We seek a discussion on how the sector can be reasonably compensated,” reads an excerpt from the letter published by the Financial Times.

One of the ports likely to seek compensation is Portsmouth. About three months ago, the port’s chief executive, Mike Sellers, told the Guardian that its cargo screening facility was designed to handle 50 to 80 vehicles a day, but that once it opens, the port expects to handle just six.

Recently, Brian Murphy, chief executive of Poole Harbour Commissioners, told POLITICO that the Port of Poole had invested more than £500,000 in a facility for post-Brexit checks, but that it was only being used by “two or three people doing some paperwork”.

In a statement issued in response to the calls for compensation, a DEFRA spokesperson said:

“Protecting UK biosecurity remains one of our key priorities. We continue to work with border control posts to ensure they are operating effectively and are properly resourced.”

However, BPA Executive Director Richard Ballantyne told POLITICO that ports have not been able to recoup the money they invested in their facilities because there are not enough controls in place to recover the money through fees and charges.

Ballantyne is also concerned that checks could be further reduced if a veterinary deal with the EU fails, meaning the investment in Poole would be wasted.