UK delays post-Brexit border checks, citing pandemic impact

By JILL LAWLESS
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Britain says it is delaying the start of post-Brexit border checks on food imports from the European Union. The government cited disruption from the coronavirus pandemic. The delay means checks on EU agricultural and animal products that were due to start in October won’t be introduced until next year. The U.K. said Tuesday that the “pragmatic new timetable” would ease pressure on businesses grappling with supply chain disruptions from the pandemic. Britain left the EU’s single market at the end of 2020 and imports from the bloc are supposed to be subject to the same checks as goods from everywhere else in the world. This is the second time the U.K. has put off introducing some of the agreed checks.